[unoczar]

1.7.22
The idea for such an audacious trip was conceived about 10 years ago. Or more, I don't really remember.

This was the time when a certain juggernaut named Tanveer Singh was rolling all over the Himachal and much further north. Much further than a sane mind can imagine.

His white elephant and its tarp covered front-end still haunt me to this day, thinking what would I do if I were in such a position. And we are not even talking about the camps he set up in the middle of nowhere and that too in temperatures where we could make igloos.

In 2014, I bought a new Royal Enfield electra with thoughts that I would ride it to the north most road in India. Thoughts that remain only thoughts and never made their way into reality.

Currently, I own a Swift Dzire 2014 which has been a solid companion through numerous trips. Never did it give me any trouble. But still, the thought of taking this compact sedan to the unforgiving terrain of Ladakh never came to my mind.

I've been following the Ultimate Guide religiously and reading about Ladakh whenever I find free time. I've read uncountable travelogues of 2 wheelers and 4, YouTube videos - don't even ask!
Jump to 2022, I've seen enough travelogues with people doing the circuit in smaller cars to muster the strength to plan a trip and planning I have started. Somewhere I read, "The best car to do this trip is the car in your Garage". That was enough motivation for me.

If you're thinking that the trip is done, you're wrong. I'm still a month away from the start date and thought of starting this log anyway. Will it be this time?

13.7.22
Initially the start date was August 27. It has now been pushed to September 16 owing to leaves and stuff.

Planning for the trip is currently on hold as we're yet to finalize the dates. I'm already worried as it would be colder when compared to the earlier dates.

This was how my initial itinerary looked like. This will be changed and it is currently WIP.



22.7.22

Everywhere I've read about this kind of a trip - They all say one thing. Preparation! So with the limited resources I have, I've started the preparation. Mentally and theoretically, I've been preparing for this for years. But physically, the preparations started a few weeks ago.

Can one prepare enough for this kind of a trip?



18.8.22

Exactly a month to go for the trip and today is an important day. Why? Today is the day I spoke to my manager at office and got the leaves approved. A big step indeed. Now to speak to my kid's teacher (which wifey already did) about the days of our trip and the classes he might miss. He actually has an Autumn break in the second half of September which was also the reason for the postponement. Also, the wife has to finalize leaves at her office.
But, today the trip seems to be materializing and it has pumped in some excitement to the rather mundane days that are passing by currently. Wish I could go now, but wishes are wishes and reality is almost always different. It is this almost that keeps us going, doesn't it?



8/9/22

The trip almost died during the last few days cause my mother is not keeping well. I had almost made up my mind to cancel/postpone it AGAIN!

And suddenly a few days ago she says... Don't cancel your trip. It sounded like 'Jaa, jee le apni zindagi'. I was like, are you sure? And she said yes!
Yes! It might happen finally.

So, day before yesterday I made a hotel booking for our day1 of the trip. Hotel on NH44 bypass in Sagar, MP. I'm not making any other bookings due to the unpredictable nature of the trip. Everything will be done on the way.

Yesterday, got my car serviced. Engine oil replaced, oil filter replaced, fuel filter replaced, tyres checked, battery checked, lights checked, gear oil, break oil checked, coolant top up. Other things inspected and look good to go. Break pads are at 90% my mechanic friend says so we're good there too.

Air filter only cleaned. I'll put a new one in probably Srinagar or Leh.

So, final preparations left and off we go. Start date is fixed at 17Sep. I'm a bit worried about all the rain around us. How's it gonna be in the hills? Time only will tell.

Finally the route plan is finalized just a week before the trip. Here it is -

[unoczar]

This is something I've learned on this trip. YES! We finally did it!
The biggest doubt I had before the trip was that if my car would make it? Well, it did, kind of. I'll tell all about it in the log. If I say that we breezed through all the terrain, I would be lying. Even the Innovas and Scorpios were struggling, such is the challenge posed by the hills.

Let me quickly delve into penning down my experiences here - I would like to first write briefly about some things and then we'll get into the daily log. So please bear with me and I do apologise for the picture quality. The DSLR I took along for the trip - it's battery gave up as soon as we reached Leh. So we used our good old smartphones for the clicking.



True that!

We experienced a lot of things in this trip. From around two to three hundred metres above sea level we went to about five thousand metres above sea level! We saw summer, we experienced snowfall, we were drenched in rain and we also shuddered up in the cold! If we talk about roads, we got the smoothest of tarmacs to the most rugged off road tracks I've ever seen.

The car


Did not click many pictures of the battered beast but this will have to do. I have to say it exceeded my expectations. Numerous times, I felt that it would give up. Either the engine will fail or the tyres or any of the hundreds of tiny things that are being attacked by the unforgiving roads. But nothing happened! We did not even have to fill air into the tyres up until we were on our way back near Manali! All throughout I was cursing myself for putting her through this, but after every challenge, every steep climb, every water crossing, every stone crossing, it came out with flying colours. Before this trip I had thoughts of selling this 8 year old beauty and buy a bigger one. But now I'm at peace with the car, I feel like I'm a part of it when I'm at the wheel and the thoughts of selling are just thoughts now which are away from me. Far away!

She will stay with me for as long as possible and I vow to take good care of it. It still gives me around 24-25KMPL on the highway - what more can I ask?

The Companions
Accompanying me on this trip - my wife and my 8 year old son. My son, Abdullah was excited at first but soon after experiencing the mountains, he said to me - "The mountains keep calling, but I must never go!"
But kudos to my wife, she was a pillar of support throughout! She encouraged me when I was down. I almost gave up twice during this trip, but she egged me on. She helped me through each difficult water/rocky crossing. Even though breathing was difficult, she got down every time and guided me through it. She was like Sam from LOTR, "I can't carry it, but I can carry you!" She's so afraid of driving in the mountains and I did 99% of the driving but she was never afraid to get down in the cold and tough conditions to guide us through!

The Roads
We got the best roads in the world, we got the worst roads in the world. We got no roads and we got watered roads and sharp stone roads. We went through mud and sand and slush and rocks. You name it, you got it. I said to my family that this trip will be a trip of a lifetime and you can't ask for more when it comes to all the types of terrain we saw.

The Weather
Started cloudy near home and ended cloudy. Between that, we faced hot humid weather, bone chilling winds, rain, snow everything. This is the beauty of this country, it has everything!

The Kashmiris
I cannot even start to imagine what it is like to be a Kashmiri and to be bang right in the middle of a conflict that has gone on. But one thing I did not like - they love to argue, they just won't give up on anything. I'm sure many have experienced this. The Shikara wala will argue with you, the hotel manager will argue with you, even the auto wala will argue. They just won't stop talking. Of course, I met many nice people and the old folks I spoke to say that situation is fine now and more peaceful than it ever was. The youth however, is a different story.

The Ladakhis
These people are out of this world. The nicest warmest people I've seen or met. Of course, there are bad apples and many cabbies there, but the normal Ladakhi does not discriminate. They will be nice with you and they are not affected by the outside world. There's something about that place that calms you down probably.

The Food
We carried ready to eat stuff, we carried cup noodles, oats, biscuits, chips, dry fruits etc. Only needed a few things out of those on rare occasions. You get normal food almost everywhere now. We usually ate at road side dhabas and focussed on fresh cooked dal, roti and rice. Only in Srinagar, Leh and Delhi we indulged in local delicacies and rest of the time we stuck to basics. Of course, basics include Fruits, Lays and chewing gum. Yes, chewing gum, it helps keep your teeth clean, helps you stay focussed and doesn't let you munch unnecessarily. Water, we carried a steel bottle each and filled it up at every RO or similar we found. We even filled them at all rivers we could reach and all waterfalls/streams we could touch. But on few occasions we had to buy mineral water when there was no option. In Hunder, we had Nala water ;-) that's what they call the stream of pure natural water!

The Things we carried
We did not take too much of the stuff that's recommended online for Ladakh. We stuck to basics, plus some extra stuff. We carried puncture repair kit (untouched to this day), 12V air compressor from Woscher (not used on the trip), extra coolant, break oil, spare tyre, jack etc. Coolant and break oil we used on several occasions just to top up. No jerry cans, never felt short of fuel, reason being the economy of the Dzire. We carried zip ties and one of them was used on day 1, more on that later. Plus we had our regular stuff - some normal summer clothes, body warmers, jackets, warm caps and gloves. Enough for this time of the year even in snowing conditions. Then we had our med kit, full of stuff and I had a torch, a hunting knife and a swiss army knife. My 10 year old (may be more) leather gloves were handy while driving in sub zero temperatures. The woollen ones would probably not give much of a grip. We always carried enough cash to last us at least a couple of days, but we almost always paid online. I can't remember a place where they didn't accept online or card payments.
One thing I regretted (only till I found a solution) was that I did not take a postpaid connection. Faced a little difficulty for a day but soon after bought a local Jio SIM and it worked even in Shyok River, LOL!

With those things out of the way, let's get down to the Daily log. Some statistics first -

Dates - 17/9/22 - 4/10/22
Odo - 76240KM - 82613KM
Total KMS on trip - 6373KM
Diesel spent - Rs.25446
Cheapest Diesel at a pump - Rs.81.xx - Swarghat, HP. Actual cheapest diesel Rs.80 at Whisky Nala tent shop. (more on this later)
Dearest Diesel - Rs.99.xx - Nizamabad, TS
Average for trip - 23.02 KMPL - lowest - 18.3 Hunder to Karu via Pangong. highest - 25.5 Delhi to MP.
Total Toll - Rs.7350
Under body hits - 500 or 1000 don't really remember!
Apparently, there's an engine cover plate to protect the engine underneath the car. That plate lost a screw and was hanging by one screw, got this fixed in Manali. The mechanic said that if that plate had fallen off, you could have been stranded in the middle of nowhere! eek!

[unoczar]

Day 1 - 17/9/22
Start 6am
Today's destination - Sagar,MP
912KM

Preparations were ongoing and quite hectic in the few days preceding the Go day. Car was loaded with fuel our bags and stuff the previous day. We just had to get up and go. I was so tired on Friday itself that I called in sick to work and had no energy even to be nervous. Slept early, got up early and actually we would have started by around 5.15-5.30 but madam dearest was a bit busy in something and we finally started around 6am.


Everything went well until we bypassed Nagpur and entered the Pench National park area. There was a storm warning and we were caught right up in it. Visibility was very poor, it was that bad and suddenly the new Bosch wiper blades I got installed gave way. The right side one broke off or whatever and was dangling up and down and up and down. I looked at my wife and she looked back at me. Is this the beginning of something bad? Visibility was zero now and I had to get out, get wet in the torrential downpour and fix it.

Yay! It's fixed, we go on and suddenly it happens again. Why?!

Again I pullover and try to fix it, this time wife helps and we're both wet, it stays and we get out of the rain area. As soon as it is dry outside, I pullover again in hopes of fixing it good. Something seems broken as it is not how it's supposed to be. Suddenly, a Eureka moment and I ask my wife to bring out a zip tie we had in the trunk. Quickly, she gets it and I tie it into one of the holes and it's set. She then takes out the scissors we're carrying the cuts of the hanging bit. All set! I say to her -

Ab ye naya jab hi lagega jab ye zip tie fail hoga!
She smiles, and till this day it's like that. Did not fall or broke, all through the hills and back! Magic!






Dinner at road side dhaba, hot tawa rotis and dal and paneer!

After that, it was uneventful and we negotiated some bad roads of MH and tiny bit in MP and we reached our hotel in Sagar. Hotel Kuber Vatika, big huge place with decent rooms. As soon as I reach the desk -

Sir aapne 2 adults ki booking ki hai.
Toh aur kya, hum do hi hai.
Sir child bhi likhna tha.
Bhai, chota bachha hai aur bahut thake huye hai. Kal baat karte hai.
Ok sir.

He wanted me to pay something extra, not online, but in cash. I waved it off and went to crash. Let's see in the morning.

Day 2 - 18/9/22
Start 7.25am
Today's destination - Sonipat,HR
745KM

Today we were not in any hurry to start. Took our own sweet time to get ready and start our day. There was only one guy at the reception in the morning. Again he tried to bring up last night's topic, I calmly said that we did not take an extra mattress and we're not paying you anything extra. Bye!

Navigating through the cattle we made our way to another Dhaba for some local parathas and Poha.





The day after that was mostly uneventful except for how to reach and cross Delhi. My plan was to take the Mathura road (less toll and more fun to drive), but as per Google baba both the Mathura road and YEW have exact same toll. On top of that it also said that YEW and EPE will be faster. I wanted to avoid UP roads cause of obvious reasons but then seeing the current scenario I thought why should I spend the equal amount and take the NH? I went on towards the Yamuna Expressway. Google baba played a trick on us here, we had to go through a couple of villages as that seemed to be the only road to reach the YEW. That spoiled our moods a bit, but we were soon on the YEW and reached Noida by evening. Then onto the EPE for Sonipat and we were there by around 8.30pm.

Again we had problems with our hotel reservation which we made on the way. On reaching this place, we were told that he has no tie ups with anything online. Called up goibibo and asked about this, they said we'll fix you up with an alternative hotel which turned out to be better than what we had booked. So, our second night we stayed in FairVacanze, a little south of Murthal.

Looks like our luck with our hotel booking is not turning out so good. But wait till you read what happened next!

Day 3 - 19/9/22
Start 8.30am
Today's destination - Jammu, J&K
550KM

After last night's gadbad, we were in no mood to start early. And anyways, we just had to cover 500 odd KMs today.


Absolutely no mood to drive after covering 1700KMs in last two days


View of the Peripheral expressways from room balcony


Who wants a Boost?!


Murthal ke Parathe! Look at the butter they drop on there!


Softys from McD's drive thru we went to, somewhere in Punjab!

Road from Sonipat onwards is smooth all the way to when you enter J&K. We missed this ramp (9Q9X+89Q) and went towards Chandigarh but then took a left further on to meet the correct road. Same thing happened on our way back and we again went into Chandigarh and lost about an hour. I have no idea how is this possible.

Anyways, smooth drive till Pathankot and the scenery also changes a bit. Now, we stopped at a fuel station and thought to book our hotel for the night. So, I told my wife to book a good hotel so that we won't have problems like we had previously. So we booked checked on Google etc and booked the "Grand Hill" in Jammu. Navigated to that place which is atop a hill on the highway we were supposed to take the next day. Hoping for the best, we reach and I go in to the place and ask the first person I see -

Hi, where's the hotel, we have a reservation online.
What hotel sir? This is a restaurant.
What? we made this booking see (I show him the voucher)
*smiles* this is "Grand Hill", your booking is for "The Grand Hill", it is 5KM in the reverse direction.

We made a mistake by seeing 'Grand Hill' on google and then booking 'The Grand Hill' on ibibo. *facepalm*





Now, since we entered J&K, there was no network on any of our SIMs. Already regretting the idea of skipping the postpaid connection. I applied for it and rejected it at the last moment, thinking 'Jo hoga dekha jayega'. We had offline maps for J&K and Ladakh, so I thought we should be good.

Frustrated, we go back thinking, Oh no! not again! But we had no idea that bad luck with hotels is going to get worse. We reach "The Grand Hill", a not so good a hotel like we saw online. So we're tired and try to check in anyway. The man at the reception drops a bomb on us by saying -

Ye kab book kiya aapne?
Aaj hi - dopahar mei.
Oh sorry sir. We already gave that room to another person.
What? How can you take a booking without having the rooms?
Sorry sir. But we have another room I can give you which has a single bed. I'll throw in extra mattress and dinner for free.

I was like whatever now, just get over with it and we eat the food and go off to sleep. At least the AC was working and Jammu weather at the time was hot n humid like Delhi. Phew!

Day 4 - 20/9/22
Start 8.00am
Today's destination - Srinagar, J&K
550KM

So, we get up and get ready to leave. Breakfast was added in the booking and upon enquiry he says "Abhi Time lagega". I was like we cannot wait because of all the cut off times and stuff and we leave.
It's time to negotiate our way through the Nagrota check post where absolutely no one stopped us or checked anything.

Last night we felt the discomfort of not being able to use the mobile phones and were looking for an alternative. Upon enquiry I found out that if we buy a prepaid SIM in J&K, it will work here and in Ladakh. So I planned to buy one as soon as we enter Srinagar.

Some good luck with that and we found a "Jio check post" right after we exited one of the tunnels. Purchased a SIM for 300/- and it worked just fine for the rest of our trip. Spent 15-20 minutes there and got it activated and called mom too! Easy peasy!

Reached Srinagar by 4pm after seeing thousands of trucks lined up for the cut off times trying to go down and having authentic wazwan cuisine for lunch just before entering Srinagar.

On the way, we also visited a bat factory and spoke to locals. Shopped for some walnuts and saffron too!


Through the tunnels


Stopped for army convoy coming from the other side - 30 minutes!


Buried!


Want a big bat?


One Miss take or mistake?


Kebabs at Makai Point near Dal Lake


Talking to locals near bat factories


Me at one of the factories!

One thing was beginning to dawn upon me - You cannot mess with the cabs here in J&K (or Ladakh for that matter). You must let them go as soon as they show up in the RVM or honk. They will just not stay behind you (read out of state vehicle).

We checked in to Hotel Curio's at Srinagar. Decent property and a nice clean place. But again we had trouble with the booking. After a long discussion with the manager, we were settled in to the room without extra charges. He was initially giving us a double occupancy room (but we had a booking for 3 people) and then relented and gave us a triple room.

In the evening, we made a round of the Dal Lake and had some snacks at Makai Point and another one near Nishat Gardens. After that we called it a night.

Day 5 - 21/9/22
Rest day

Today was basically a rest day and I intended to wander around Srinagar. So, in the morning we set off towards Gulmarg hoping to do a Gondola ride. Little did we know what was in store for us. Started early morning and grabbed a few bananas on our way to Gulmarg.
As soon as we neared the first check post before the climb started, we were hounded by a group of guides (read thugs). I said NO straightforward! I wasn't entertaining them even for a second. Then an old man from their group pleaded with me to listen.

Saab ji, aapne 50 rupay yaha entry ke dene hai aur 300 rupay wapas aane pe
300 rupay kis cheez ke chacha?
ham aapko ghumayenge, points batayenge, jaha koi rokega hum dekh lenge.

I said nothing doing and moved on and paid the Rs.50 for entry and went on for a toilet stop. They even reached their in their Alto and again started to irritate me. The old man was pleading again that this is their only source of income, and if you're not satisfied, do not pay a single rupee. He even said that he'll take us in his Alto instead of the ponies towards the Gondola ride. I said OK and started to follow them. After reaching the top, they shamelessly hand us over to the ponies group and basically this whole game was to extort money out of us. I had made up my mind not to shell out a single rupee.

We moved away from the groups and had breakfast, parathas and tea. Even the shopkeeper was empathetic towards us and said that these guys are like this only. After all the commotion, we were in no mood for any rides and we wandered around the place and turned back. My wife was saying they'll hassle us on the way back and to pay them. I told her sternly in front of them. Ek rupaya bhi nahi dunga mai!

That episode done, we made our way back down disappointed and stopped at an Apple orchard and gave the car a much needed wash.

Then we headed back towards Srinagar for lunch. I had heard about a place called Chopstick and we went there. Amazing small little place, serves an amazing soup as a welcome thing for free! I had 2 cups! Then we had momos, noodles and their famous Shafali (paratha type with kheema filling). The place is located in small muslim tibetan colony. Full stomachs and after meeting their owner, we said goodbye with a smile on our faces. Something went right for us after all!

Then we made our way back to our hotel and I needed to do some things on the car. Luckily behind our hotel were some mechanic shops and I asked them to change the Air Filter (which was pending from earlier) and check other things. All good and we're good to go towards Ladakh.

It was late afternoon now and we really needed to relax in a Shikara. Yes! Walked out on towards the road and grabbed an auto rickshaw and let the car rest in the hotel. Reached Dal Lake and again the same story with the Shikara people. Bargaining on the price for the ride. Settled on Rs.1500 for 2 hours ride and had the most amazing time in the lake. The old man who was rowing us was a very gentle and nice chap. Singing traditional kashmiri songs he told us about how the Char Chinar are now just one or two Chinar after the 2014 floods and how the Prince sometimes comes to the palace in the Lake. How the locals farm on the fields inside the lake and live there itself. I never thought all of that was possible in the middle of a lake!?

There was even a masjid in the lake apart from a full fledged market and not to mention - Houseboats. A whole lot of them.

After the ride, we paid them happily and made our way towards Lal chowk for some women satisfaction (shopping) and just to stroll about. Done that, we walked back towards our hotel and had dinner at the hotel and retired for the day. The trip is actually going to start tomorrow, yes, we shall enter Ladakh and we need to get up early and encounter mountain passes and what not?! Excited and tired, we go to sleep! Big day tomorrow as I have never crossed a mountain pass before and I'm nervous. :-D


Towards Gulmarg


Apples!


Chopstick!


Curios' Garden


A way to relax..


Shikara shops


Lotus? Tulip?


That free soup! Yumm.

[unoczar]

Day 5 continued...


Beautiful Gulmarg


Much Needed


Some tea in the water, water in tea too!


Pure bliss


What you looking at?


Tulips I guess


Sunset time


Masjid in Lake


Wish I could keep sailing


Saying bye to Srinagar and the beautiful lake

Day 6 - 22/9/22
Start 5.25am
Today's destination - Leh, Ladakh
421KM

We got up before 5am in our hotel and hurried to leave. Big day ahead! We had kept all the heavy stuff in the car at night itself. So only getting fresh and personal stuff to carry.

We rushed out of the big gates of Curios and bid goodbye to the manager with a promise of return. Made our way through the narrow lanes towards Sonamarg and we also needed to fill up. Could not find a decent place for fuel up until a few KMs before Sonamarg as they were yet to open or had a bit of waiting.

Crossed Sonamarg without any hassles and I was preparing myself mentally for allegedly the most deadliest of passes on this road - Zoji La!

We hadn't had a chance to eat yet and I was looking for any decent road side stalls who can give us hot tea and maggi and preferably bread omelette. Skipped a few shops and I was suddenly climbing the mountain. I thought to myself, Zoji La top is not but 25 or so KMs from Sonamarg and we've already passed Sonamarg.

Stopped at the next make shift tea stall and good thing that he had everything we needed and more. This was a temporary shed set up in morning and close by evening. Spoke to the humble fellow and he very humbly told me that his was the last shop this side of the mountain. Nothing for the next 25-30 Kms and that includes climbing Zoji La and the descent. Phew! I thanked my stars and requested him humbly to make bread omelette maggi and tea. Quickly polished off all that and stocked up on some Healthy Ram's and Lays we quickly thanked him and made off to conquer our first pass of the trip.

A big thanks to BRO the roads are 80% done and concrete paving was going on on the rest when we passed. Except for a few hair raising turns and worrying about our low GC car, we reached the Zoji La zero point unscathed. I have to agree that Zoji La is the scariest thing on the Srinagar-Leh road.

A few minutes later, we officially entered the Union Territory of Ladakh! We were all pumped to see that sign board, most of all my kid! Little did he know what the mountains of Ladakh had in store for us. Soon we were descending the pass and on our way towards the Kargil War Memorial, we encountered the river Dras. Put my car in the sands near the river and had a nice time in the cold waters. I was skeptical about the car getting stuck there, but thankfully the sand was wet enough and firm to drive. There was one other Fortuner there and pretty empty.

Just about noon we crossed Dras (second coldest place on earth) and then reached Kargil War Memorial, this was a must stop for us as my wife is an army kid. Parked the car in the parking lot oppostie the memorial and what do we see? A TS registered Tigor right besides us. Small world!
As soon as we got out of the car, the parking attendant warned us that you cannot enter without shoes. So, we went back to the trunk and took out our shoes. (I like to drive in a relaxed manner, :-D) Went in, paid our respected to the martyrs and clicked some photos. Wifey was in tears seeing the last letters of some soldiers to their loved ones. The whole memorial is an eye opener for sure, for us civilians. Then we made our way toward the town of Kargil. We had local food there in a small cafe, some thukpa and dal rice which was yumm. At about 2.30 we were ready to say bye to Kargil and towards Leh - On the way we would have to pass a couple of more passes - Namik La and Fotu La - which ideally would be a breeze given the smooth tarmac all the way. But here I missed a trick - in retrospect, I should have called it a day at Kargil. Remember, I've been awake since 5am and driving continuously. The dreaded AMS symptoms kicked in just after and full body pains with headache and total exhaustion. At about 5 in the evening I almost collapsed in some dhaba in Mulbekh. Quite a distance to go, can we rent a room hear nearby? Should we go back to Kargil? All sorts of questions in my mind. Then wife reminds me, we already made bookings for our hotel at Leh!

Wow! it is really happening to me, must've read about this a thousand times. Popped in the diamox and paracetamol we were carrying and had some tea. (I don't clearly remember these details). Soon, I decided that we must go on, there's no point staying here in the mountains as the cold would get worse and I DO NOT like to take U-turns. In no time, we're crossing Namik La and then Fotu La - no energy to take Fotus and soon it gets dark. At about sunset time, we arrive at Lamayuru - the Moon Lands and we cannot see a thing! So much for all the planning! Caught a glimpse only of the famous land mark and went on our way. Then after it got dark, I don't know what happened to me - Schumacher entered my body or what I don't know - I was driving like a maniac crossing the little towns that came by and in only a couple of hours we were at Nimoo. Took a breather at the market and also the fuel station, called up the hotel in Leh to tell them we're coming. AMS symptoms gone away, but the worse was yet to come.

The KWM pics first and then the journey.

KWM!

For your tomorrow, we gave our today!

Memories

Bravery Tales..

Bravery Tales..

Bravery Tales..

Bravery Tales..

Bravery Tales..

Bravery Tales..

Boom!

Bofors, The Howitzer

These things are big!

That's what it's all about

Wasn't allowed here

Sunflower.. what else?

[unoczar]

Reached the hotel Nathula Guest House in Leh at about 9pm (or was it 9.30?). Was greeted at the gate by one of the warmest Ladakhi person Mr. Rigzin. We were welcomed in the beautiful guest house which had nice cozy rooms and a nice flower garden. First time on the trip we didn't have any problems with our hotel bookings. We'd already had our dinner before reaching this place, a quick stop at a small dhaba as soon as we hit Leh.

With nothing else to do, we crashed on the beds and called it a night. Now, if you remember, I was hit by AMS earlier in the day and I was about to get hit with some serious symptoms. In the dead of the night, at a time when I usually do not get up, I find myself awake - sensation of vomit. I rush into the bathroom to do the thing and I'm worried too. But when you're so tired, you just want to brush off something serious like this too and go back to sleep. and that's what I did.

Journey pics -

Starting bright n early!


We live in a beautiful world


Nah.. it wasn't that cold


Careful!


I've answered your call, stop calling me now


The last stop before Zoji La


Climbing the treacherous ZojiLa


Yes, all that in the Dzire.


Remembering Zoji La haunts me to this day, all the peaks for that matter


Near Zoji La top


Finally


Yeah!


Yes!


That's a first of many!


Paved.. not paved... Paved.


Intimidating


Drass!


Lunch in Kargil town


AMS kicking in, and don't ask me why I'm wearing that cap


FotuLa - no time or energy for Fotus!


Blankets or Mountains?


Namik La!


Day 7 - 23/9/22
Leh, Ladakh
Today's destination - Leh, Ladakh
0KM

After going through an absolutely incredible day of driving and fighting AMS and spending the night fighting it some more, we were greeted by another bright n sunny day! The big window of our room opened up to the small flower garden and we were relieved and excited that we've finally made it to Leh. Something I've been dreaming about since the last few years.

Mr. Rigzin has two sons (that I know of), their names I forget, and together with his wife they run an incredibly sweet set up. Nathula is peacefully set about half a KM away from the hustle bustle of the Leh market. That's where we need to go today as it's Friday and I need to attend my Friday prayers in the Leh Jama Masjid. Good thing that it's bang in the middle of a tourist hub, so it has enough space for men and a separate enclosure for women too! Done with that, we explore the local market, have some lunch and get some much needed rest.

Night comes and although I was okay during the day, I worried what's gonna happen in my sleep. And it did! it happened again and now I was really worried. There were no other symptoms, no fever, no headache, vision was good - everything was normal, but for 2 nights in a row I was awaken by the urge to vomit. Wife n Kid were okay, it was just me. This was calming, but I was worried about the rest of the trip.

Day 8 - 24/9/22
Leh, Ladakh
Today's destination - Leh, Ladakh
0KM

Today, according to our schedule, we were supposed to scale the mighty Khardung La and go to the Nubra Valley. But after the events of last 2 nights, we discussed that we need to spend another day in Leh. Our initial booking was of 2 nights and we requested the owner for an extension, which he gladly agreed to as the hotel was rather unoccupied owing this time year being off season. In our discussion, I did mentioned that I'm thinking of turning back. But my wife calmed me down and said that let's wait a day, you'll be alright. And she was right, everything worked out well and we did march on towards our next adventure. Tomorrow would be the scariest day of our lives! But before that we have to spend another day in Leh. So, why not go back a little and experience the things tourists do?

We got in the car and went to the Magnetic Hill and the saw the confluence from a distance (which we missed the other day). Gave the palace and monasteries a miss as weren't really interested. Explored the market some more and the eateries and prepared for tomorrow. I was feeling better and raring to go now. 3 nights in the same place was getting on my nerves and I must go now I said to myself. It's going to be a huge day, since Mr. Rigzin mentioned that it might just rain tomorrow. You know what happens if its raining around the mountains, don't you?

Day 7 and 8 pics -

Local Apple


How may I help you?


View from our window


Confluence


Magnetic Hill - not that magnetic at all


Superman? Spiderman? Shakti-Man?


Local Apples in the hotel

[unoczar]

Day 9 - 25/9/22
Start 9.30am (approx.)
Today's destination - Hunder
125KM

Fresh morning, a hazy morning, and we bid adieu to Nathula Guest House. They treated us well for the last 3 nights, he even took less than online fare for the 3rd night which we stayed extra. Wishes exchanged to meet again, we set off towards the mighty Khardung La!
We had absolutely no idea what's it like to drive a compact sedan in slushy wet snowy conditions, without any preparation, without any warnings from anyone. I chose this time of the year since it's supposed to be dry, the rainy weather is supposed to be over, the winter is yet to start, there would be very few tourists and the terrain would be easy. That's only on paper, cause in the mountains you can never be sure of anything. It can rain anytime, the rain can turn into snow anytime, suddenly the sun can come out and then in a few minutes the clouds can again descend down on you and block any visibility that you might have.

So, driving a car with only 3 occupants but full of stuff, I start ascending towards the checkpoint before the pass. The roads are good and I see vehicles of all sizes making their way up. So far so good. In a few minutes, it starts to drizzle. That drizzle turns into hail as we go up through the winding roads and suddenly we see white on the road sides. We have fresh snowfall! Now, for an average Indian - this is a rarity! This was only the second (or is it third?) time in my life, I've experienced fresh snowfall. Gloves, headwear, jacket - check. We arrive at South Pullu. There is absolutely no one at the checkpoint. It's like a free for all! I stop my car at the side and wait. No one is telling me anything. Empty road in front of me, but I'm worried - coz it's snowing and one question in my mind - These big cars are going, but am I okay to go?

I get down, climb up the few stairs with some difficulty. The lonely police vehicle there is covered with snow now. A taxiwala comes by, I ask him what to do, he said write your details in the register and go. I asked him - meri gaadi dekho.. jayegi? He says with a smile, koi baat nahi, jayegi.
With some confidence, I jump back in and gun it towards the top. Soon we are into heavy slush made by the big cars and it's a big mess. My car is sliding everywhere and it's a big struggle to reach the top. A kilometre in those conditions seems like an eternity. Minutes from the top, the snow storm has turned into a blizzard. We can barely see anything and after some more fighting we reach the top. Hurray! But the joy is short-lived as I can only see 2-3 vehicles there. Did not have the courage to get down in that storm, we click a photo from the car itself and prepare to go down. An Innova driver comes up to us like we're standing at a traffic signal and makes small talk. I ignore him and suddenly a full sized bus with snowchains goes up ahead of us. I try to follow it as it would make some sort of a way for us too. Wrong decision - as soon as we started down the bus was blocked by a car trying to come up from the other side. The bus stopped, I could not. We were now sliding towards the edge of the mountain, I'm pressing the brakes with all my might but I'm not stopping. I turn towards the bus and put my car into the back of the bus. We stopped after a thud! Phew!

My left front light and the bonnet is damaged by the ladder at the rear of the bus. But we're safe for now. I instruct my family to jump without thinking if I say jump from now on. Prepared for the worst, we start again as soon as the bus moves. Treacherous conditions continued till about 20 minutes or so and then the snow started to thin out. I wanted to hurry down coz if the snow turns to ice near the top, there was no way we were coming down in our car. Till the thing was soft and fresh we could make our way down. Seeing the black tarmac again, we stopped at the side and played in the snow for a bit and then made our way towards Nubra. Stopped for some hot dal, chawal on the way (probably near Khalsar) and soon we were embracing the sights of the Nubra valley. The whole place is another level of peaceful and serene!

After some more twists and turns, we see the cold desert for the first time. We've reached Diskit and there are some people on ATV's and Zip Lines. I decide to make a quick stop and explore what's going on here. We ask the people there about the activities and too shaken up from what we just went through, we just ask about the way and proceed further towards Hunder. Progress was slow as got a bit lost in the hills (don't ask hows that possible) and finally reached Hunder a couple of hours before sunset. Now, we didn't have hotels booked for obvious reasons, so that's the first thing on my mind.

Hunder is a quiet little town with an army encampment on one side, the town and the sands on the other end. The huge mountain range overlooks this village and is a sight to behold. One can easily imagine spending the rest of their lives in a place like this. So, hotel hunting shouldn't be hard in a small town like this. But it was, some of them were already closed for the season, some were not to our liking and the good ones were way over budget. After spending considerable time in this, we go to Hotel Gyalpo House. The manager came out to greet us and showed us the room. We like it and for ₹2000 a night, we get breakfast and dinner as well. The two meals are necessary in a place like this unless you wanna sleep hungry. There's next to zero options in the town!

It's almost sunset now that we've settled into the room. The weather is overcast and we cannot go to the sand dunes, we cannot even see the night sky. Nothing to do except eat and rest which we need. Tomorrow we shall head towards the villages of Turtuk and Thang.

Here we go!


Climbing the peak already looks ominous


First time!


South Pullu


Visibility very poor!


The bus that we went into.


Finally! Look at the blizzard. Didn't dare get down.


Some adventure after the scare..


North Pullu


First glimpse of the Nubra Valley


Little closer..


ATV, Zip Lines etc..


ATV's


Battered Beast


The Damage


View from Hotel, the peaks initimidate!


Safe in the Hotel!

[unoczar]

Day 10 - 26/9/22
Start 10.00am (approx.)
Today's destination - Thang n back
190KM

We had booked this Gyalpo House for 2 nights. This is owned and run by a retired army veteran of 25 years, Tenzin Gyapo, I guess - I forgot his name. Amazing things he has achieved in life, climbed Everest, met the President and now has settled down in this place after putting in all he had. The hotel was started in 2021 I believe and they went through a rough time first year due to Covid, but since then things have been good for them.

In the morning, refreshed and relaxed, we have a nice breakfast and head out towards Turtuk. We see two more WB cars in the lot in the morning. So, we aren't the only crazy ones I thought. The two cars were a Nexon (which is ok) and an i10 (wow!). After checking our car (looks okay), we make our way towards Turtuk and Thang. Roads were OK and we were making good progress. Shooting stones are always a threat in these places and we were worried and almost alone throughout. Whenever we saw a vehicle approaching us from the rear, we let it go. Passing a few more army camps and the most scenic route, we reach the town of Turtuk. Well, the outer parts at least and thinking that we'll go in later, we move on towards Thang.

Next we come up to the little village of Tyakshi and there's a check post here, nobody stopped us and we went on towards Thang, the last Indian village on this route. The road gets worse as we near Thang and a couple of bridges to cross across the Shyok river. The last turn before the village, we were greeted by a complex decision. The road there is mostly loose gravel and there's a risky left and there's an impossible inclined left towards the village. I'm not taking any chances because I've already burned my clutch a few times since the car was being sluggish. I take the risky left and we reach the Goba Ali museum. It has artefacts from olden days, Pakistani currency and how people used to do things a few decades earlier. It's a proper museum with an entry and all. But mostly we have to do the seeing ourselves. After a short tour, we learn that the village and the border view point is accessible by a small hike. We decide to do it and it wasn't easy. We were now passing by the small houses and could see people doing their business. Soon we come to hotel Taj - looked abandoned, but then suddenly we see a man coming down. We ask him if we can use the telescopes to view the other side, he says No, the army has instructed us to close that service. So, from that point, we could see the border and a small camp set up where some old guy tells stories about how all of this came to be. We decided to go back as the sun was beating down on us, we had to head back as well.

On our way back, wife made us stop at the Army run bakery at Tyakshi village. There I also met a maulvi from Lucknow, UP who has settled here. Buying from the army bakery gave us extra satisfaction and we said goodbyes. Soon, we were back at the intersection of Turtuk village. A right turn here would take us into the village, but it's already past lunch time and we would miss the camels again today if we're late. Pressed for time, we decide to give it a miss and stop by Khan's restaurant. Thinking I'd taste some Balti cuisine, I ask them 3 old men with white beards sitting by the kitchen in this beautifully set up hotel by the river. They say veg only, didn't you see the board. I said, I saw "Khan's". They said, we mostly get non-muslim tourists here, so our place is only veg. Disappointed, we order veg noodles and rice with some traditional balti chutney.

We now need to hurry back as I wanted the kid to experience the camel ride. We were not keen on burdening the camels though. Just before sunset, reached our hotel and then hurried on towards the sand dunes. The camel show was almost over and a couple of owners refused a ride. Then I requested one group to let the kid on for a bit, and he agreed. Abdullah, was asking for more, but it was dark now and we go back to our hotel. Tomorrow is probably the most important day of our trip and it would be the most dangerous too. But we didn't know that now, I've planned to do Pangong through Agham - Shyok and then back to Leh (Karu) via Chang La - all in one day! Another mistake. In hindsight, I should've stayed the night in Pangong or Durbuk at least. That would have enabled us to tackle the toughest Chang La Baba in the morning. Yes, KhardungLa is nothing in front of Chang La and the the surprise that awaited us. But that's for later, for now we sleep. But not before chatting with the owner of our stay for about half an hour (so silly we didn't get a picture with him) and then seeing a few stars that were visible.

Good Morning from Hunder!


Hotel parking, you can notice the WB Tiago in orange


Lonely roads, rare occurrence


One of the many dangers we had to cross


Wow


No words!


Another look


Presenting...


We go on!


Attention!




A little before Turtuk, fresh!


Pics from Goba Ali Museum...














That's the POK


On the way back


Nicely done!


Just in time for the Camels


Not Pangong ;-)


Hello Kamill!


Baby Kamill!


Pictures of our Host in Hunder - He's an army veteran - Rightmost.


Atop the Everest


Ladakh Scouts


With the President, second from right!

[unoczar]

Day 11 - 27/9/22
Start 5.50am
Today's destination - Pangong - Karu.
282KM

So, we get up early and say our goodbyes to the nice hosts (actually everyone was nice, expect taxi walas in Ladakh). Start as early as possible and I check fuel, we have half a tank of diesel and I'm not risking it. We need fuel. After crossing the sandy are, we arrive at the Indian Oil (34.52895093118787, 77.68653248824103) just before 7am. It's closed, the Diskit pump was also closed. So we decided to wait here, the toilet was open - so we freshened up. We waited some more having bread jam from our stockpile (~30m) and a man rubbing his eyes came in. He started the machines, did his mandatory quantity checks and filled the car up. After an anxious delay we make our way towards Pangong (yay!). At Khalsar turning, we take left along the Shyok river road and soon we're greeted by fresh tarmac in laid on the river bed. So we're basically driving in the river. We stop for a bit to let it sink in and collect some river stones. Soon after, we're doing proper off-roading - water crossings and sharp stony roads. Every turn, every corner I was thinking to myself, how will we cross this section? How will we get over this bit? But we did, and reached Agham Villa cafe and surprise surprise, we see those two WB cars from our hotel there. We didn't get a chance to meet them at the hotel, but we did talk a bit there at Agham. Toilet break, some maggi and tea and we were away. Some more adventures along the Shyok - many more off-roading bits - many more water crossings and we were near Durbuk now. Nice black top roads and we took a break in the market there. It was before noon and we've made good time in spite of all the challenges the path threw at us. Must say here, the car has been solid till now.

Now, I was thinking the bad roads part must be over and we should get good roads till the lake. I was wrong! The "road" ended at near Tangtse and then from there till the Lake, we did not get any roads. They had dug up everything and preparing for a new wide road (which must've been done by now). This bit was very frustrating and progress was real slow. We took about 2 hours to cover that stretch of 30-odd KM. We encountered bad roads, mud roads, JCBs working and lot of traffic too. Finally we get to the lake and it was more beautiful than I'd ever imagined. But we were tired by now, parked our car and walked to the lake. Spent some quality time there, but it was already past 2pm and our stupid plan was to reach Karu today. So, we said bye to Pangong lake and hurried on back. Took our lunch break at about 4 back at Tangtse and started for Chang La soon after. I thought we should be able to at least reach the top by sunset and then we'll get down in the dark. Everything went to plan, burned my clutch at every steep slope and almost reached the top by around 6pm. Amazing coincidence there, we saw those two WB cars coming from the opposite direction, going towards Pangong! I was shocked on seeing them, probably they could not take the terrain and went back after Agham and came from Sakti - we'll never know.

About half a KM from the top, we're stuck in a jam. Long line of vehicles of all types, and my car would not stay at one place. With running momentum, it was okay but if you have stand still on a slope with slushy conditions, it's a nightmare. Add to that the stop n go conditions of the jam, my heart was pounding and I was burning the clutch on every move. Apparently a JCB had rolled over into the gorge and a crane was trying to bring it up. What a time for that tragedy to happen and it's dark now. We're not moving and the temperature in the car shows -2 degrees! I ask my wife what do we have if we have to spend the night here? She re-assures that have enough warm clothing, blankets and food and water. But, luckily, the workers abandoned that operation and we were free of the jam in about half an hour. It's about 7pm now and we have to be doubly careful now that we're going down. It was a never ending scenario - the descent of Chang La. It took us about 2 more hours to come down to Karu. I was saying to myself the whole time - not again!

We reach Karu finally, it was a relief. We were hungry and went to a dhaba first. Hotel searching can wait. Filled our tummies and there was another problem to take care of. How do we go back? Do we go to Leh from here and tackle Zoji La again or do we take the infamous Manali - Leh highway? After the food, I was keeping my eye on the road that comes from Manali. A couple of lorries came in, I ask about the route and do not get a satisfactory answer. Then a few minutes later I saw an old Santro coming in, I run over to them two guys in it and ask. They say - Ho jayega bhai, hum abhi Manali se hi aare! That was enough encouragement and we look for a hotel room to spend the night. We were dead tired and tomorrow is going to be another big and adventurous day! This day was the lowest average we got - 18.3KMPL - No route on the trip we got less than this.

To Pangong, through the road in the Shyok river


not just roads, that would be boring..


Agham Cafe


Must stop here


not a care in the world


Yes, that's what we're here for


Pangong pics..






















Touristy


Hello ponies


Do you see water?


Now you do!


This is the jam near Chang La top

[unoczar]

Day 12 - 28/9/22
Start 6.10am
Today's destination - Manali
401KM

We wake early, still tired from yesterday's ordeal, we start our trip back to the plains. After some time, we arrive at Upshi - no checking for us but we stop at a store which was open for some snacks for the road. Soon after, we hit the mountains and we encountered the biggest slush we've ever seen. Created by the trucks, the mud was deep where the truck's tires would pass through and it risen up almost 2 feet in the middle. I stopped and said to myself, there's no way we're getting through this. Suddenly a lorry comes from the opposite side and gestures me to hurry up. I said to myself, let's do it - Phas gaye toh ye lorry wala hi nikalega! Taking the almighty's name, I put the car in the slush. With nice momentum, we're through! Smiles on our faces, we head towards our next adventure. We stopped for our breakfast soon after - don't remember where - It was probably Lato or Miru. A small cafe, but all of them have delicious homely food in the mountains. Aloo parathas, maggi n tea - splendid. Off we go towards Tanglang La - probably the best drive of the trip so far climbing a mountain pass. Nice n wide freshly laid black top roads all the way to the top n beyond. This was looking easy for now - I was having a nice time doing 60-70 on mountains - I love these type of drives. Almost uneventful through the plain section with beautiful views and we almost forgot the horrors of mountains passes and were blissfully driving down empty roads. Crossing the Moray Plains, we encountered some bad roads but these were nothing compared to what we've already done. Another mountain peak - Lachung La - somewhat tough but doable. Here we go down into the Whisky Nala, again I had about half a tank of fuel left. We should be able to make it to Manali in this, but why take a chance? I asked in one of the tents where we took a tea break for fuel. He had diesel, I double checked and it looked good. He said ₹800 for 10 litres, I was shocked and sceptic about this. But still went ahead as we wanted to be on the safe side.

Hurrying up towards our next pass - Nakeela - the roads were not good. But still doable and we were ambling along. The Gata loops were not a problem and soon we were at Sarchu. Stopped at a small shack called Taj Hotel n Restaurant. Had amazing dal rice there made by the nice lady. They even had a small toilet shack behind with WC in it! Done with that, we moved on towards the Sarchu bridge. This crossing was the worst by far in the whole trip - I had to drive the car over boulders as work on the bridge was goind on. There was water running through and stones 6-12 inches in diameter on the path. Was sweating by the time we crossed it. Some more bad roads and un-drivable roads later we reached Baralacha La. Now, I was thinking that we'd done the worst mountain passes on the trip and this should be comparatively easy. I was WRONG! This was the most toughest pass to conquer. When you have bad under-construction roads on the steepest roads, it is bound to get really difficult. A good patch, followed by a bad patch. A water crossing, followed by another bad road patch. Reaching the top was a big relief. There, we saw a group of foreigners in a rented Tavera. The driver was probably from Delhi. The top has a small temple there. The group was probably drunk or high on something else, I don't know. We were watching from a distance. The idiots entered the temple with shoes on, grabbed the trident from the idol and were mock fighting! I went to the driver (who was a Hindu), and asked him to tell them to stop it. He tried but they wouldn't listen. I gestured them to stop it as well, as it's not right. They did stop the act but were still fooling around on a mountain pass that too! We did not spend too much time there and went ahead and saw plain fields of snow on both sides and thought that people must come here for skiing or something. All of that behind us now, we were hurrying towards Manali as it was past 4pm now. After stopping for tea n milk somewhere around Keylong or Tandi, we entered Atal Tunnel at about 7.40PM. It was raining heavily at that time, entering the long tunnel was a relief from the rain. Reached Manali at about 8.30-9.00 and stopped at a cafe for some Pasta and took the car to a garage for the first time in the mountains. We'd had a lot of underbody hits, so wanted to have it looked at by a professoinal. The mechanic went in and came out shocked, he said - the engine guard plate is hanging by just two screws and you're very lucky to have survived this. I calmly said, you have no idea how lucky we are. Got the break pads changed as well and he fixed the engine guard. Booked a hotel and crashed into the beds.
We've answered the mountain's call and now we head back to our home sweet home.

Day 13 - 29/9/22
Start 8.30am (approx)
Today's destination - Delhi
575KM

Today there would be no adventure, had mixed feelings about this day. But how can a trip like this have no adventure? We were lazy and tired in the morning and had the complimentary breakfast our hotel offered and started from Manali.
Distance is not much between Manali and Delhi but traversing the twisty hilly roads make it time consuming. Also, I wasn't sure if we should go via Shimla or take the roads west of it. We decided not to go the Shimla route and easily crossed Kullu and Aut tunnel. About half an hour from Mandi the traffic stops. We wait a bit, it's not moving. I take a look by stepping outside and it's Changla BABA all over again. The traffic is stopped because of a JCB, but this time he's working and the road is no go. Sitting and waiting, we see some people passing by selling chana, popcorn, etc - that is nice time pass when there's not much to do. That jam took up about close to 2 hours of our time.

After that we went through the frustrating hills near Bilaspur and then took a wrong turn towards Swarghat. It is here we got the cheapest diesel costing about ₹81 something. Made our way down towards Kiratpur Sahib and now truly we said bye bye to the hills. Now, it was home run to Delhi where we would rest for about 3 days (1 extra for stomach upset) and then Hyderabad. But not before a small pitstop near Murthal where we left a hat and something at the hotel FairVacanze. Reached Delhi at about midnight and crashed.

Day 14,15,16 - 30/9/22-2/10/22
Delhi - Delhi
0KM

Chilled out at our relatives' house, roamed around in Delhi trying to hit the popular spots for puri halwa, chole kulche, aloo tikki and what not. Stomach upset on the second day and we had to rest another day in Delhi.
Then, on the morning of 3rd Oct with fond memories we start our way back home.

Day 17,18 - 3/10/22-4/10/22
Destination - Hyderabad
1600KM approx.

Now that we just had to go home, simple straight two days of driving - what can go wrong? Well, our hotel bad luck (which had turned good in the mountains) was back again! Day 1 was from Delhi to Narsinghpur - we decided to do a bit extra than our usual stop at Sagar. My wife was looking for hotels around that area and saw good photos for one. Booked it as it was cheap, we just had to spend a night and go in the morning. Now, reaching the hotel was another thing. Surprise surprise there was a yatra or something blocking all roads to the hotel. We tried 2-3 ways and the police asked us to turn back as they had barricaded the path. Then some good luck, the hotel owner sent one of his guys who managed the police, the barricades and the Yatra people to allow our car to proceed. Very nice people all round and never faced any hassle from anyone. Thanked everyone and spent the night among some bugs etc, and made our way to homesweethome next day.

The battered beast has been an amazing companion on this journey and I really admire the reliability that Suzuki offers.

I would also like to thank you for reading this till here. This has taken nearly 2 years to finish. Ciao!

To one final adventure!


Who wants to fight?


TaglangLa top


Somewhere along the way


The Loops!


Won't see this everyday!


Random click while driving, didn't break any rule, Did I?


A hidden castle?


Near Baralacha La top


The kid was having a hard time


Sarchu hotel


Atal Tunnel


Manali Hotel


Spotted a small waterfall on our way to Mandi


A sunset pic, sums it up!


Souvenir!


What does the t-shirt say?


UPDATE: The battered beast has endured almost 10 years with us and I thought it is time to give it a complete makeover. Full body denting/painting, black alloys - she looks amazing now! It is really hard for me to sell this and think of another car.

Renewed - Battered Beast!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Dippy]

Read your full travelogue in 1 go. Wonderful write up and so cool to do the whole trip with your family. I did Leh with Mahindra Adventure as part of the Monastery Escape back in 2019. Brought back memories of that trip.

Yes there was sort of a blizzard too when I reached Khardungla top. But I still got out to click a picture, though I couldnt face the camera

I plan to do Ladakh again next year but this time with my own Thar. Lets see how that goes.

Once again, super travelogue

[unoczar]

Originally Posted by Dippy

Yes there was sort of a blizzard too when I reached Khardungla top. But I still got out to click a picture, though I couldnt face the camera
Once again, super travelogue

Thank you Sir. Especially after the AMS episode, I didn’t wanna take any undue risks. Was genuinely scared since this was a first time for me in a snow storm!

[Gennex]

Beautiful writeup of a beautiful journey. Kudos to you and your family, especially the kid for enduring harsh roads, weather and altitude. Travelogues like this inspires BHPIANS.

[subuiyer]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading the travelogue. You have elaborated the experience so well, felt like I had travelled with you. Had to read it in one go, start to end.
Kudos to your planning and undertaking such a long journey with family, especially if you are the sole driver. Wish you and your steed many more happy miles!

[unoczar]

Originally Posted by Gennex

Beautiful writeup of a beautiful journey. Kudos to you and your family, especially the kid for enduring harsh roads, weather and altitude. Travelogues like this inspires BHPIANS.

Thank you so much, very generous words those.

Originally Posted by subuiyer

Thoroughly enjoyed reading the travelogue. You have elaborated the experience so well, felt like I had travelled with you. Had to read it in one go, start to end.
Kudos to your planning and undertaking such a long journey with family, especially if you are the sole driver. Wish you and your steed many more happy miles!

Thank you so much. Tried to put in all the details we noted down and from memory. Hope it helps someone out.