[hemanth.anand]

Chal0 ChaLeh

This is a travelogue of a 8000km road trip that we did between 5th to 21st of August 2022




PROLOGUE

It was the April of 2019; a friend of ours was on the cusp of shifting to Japan on an official delegation for 3 years. My wife’s desire of visiting Japan only grew stronger as it would be better when we have somebody there. Since March-May is the Cherry Blossom time, it was the perfect time. But since our friends would need some time to settle down, we decided that we will plan it in 2020 season. But then, who on earth knew what was in store the next year!

2020 came and we all know what unfolded. 2021 also went past in a similar way. A Japan trip when our friends are there, could not become a reality. But we needed a vacation without a doubt! During one casual discussion sometime in April, my wife and I accepted that a foreign trip was difficult in the short term. I proposed that we plan something within the country. That discussion ended there with nothing concretely decided.

Some days later, my friend and BHPian avinashsg and I were at a restaurant for dinner. We were just cursing covid in general and remembering the pre-covid times and the nice mega road trips that we had gone on. It was nothing more than just venting out the frustration of being locked down for the last couple of years.
He said “At least you’ve done 2 big road trips (East to West and West coast) after the North-South Road trip in 2012. I’ve not done such a trip after 2012 and it’s now been almost 10 years to that!”. We both were like “We should do something like that again”.

For the people who haven’t read those travelogues of mine...below are the links

We ran out of Road - 2012 - Kashmir to Kanyakumari (We ran out of road!)

N.E.W.S - 2013 - Arunachal to Gujarat (N.E.W.S. Nepal & East to West in a Safari)

W.E.S.T - 2015 - West coast (W.E.S.T. - Western End from Southern Tip)

That discussion with avinashsg stayed in my mind for long enough and the memories of that road trip in 2012 was refreshed. some days later I told my wife “It seems just like yesterday, but it’s been a decade to our Ladakh road trip!" and I added "We were thinking of celebrating the 10th anniversary in some special way. The best way would be to do a Ladakh trip again!”. She replied sternly “Last time you left me alone and went on a boys-trip. Don’t even think of doing it again. Either we both go together, or we both don’t go”.

The conversation ended there at that time, but the seed of a road trip had been planted in my head. I wanted to do the 10th anniversary trip, but taking along my wife and daughter in the car was not going to be easy. Then a Eureka moment happened, and I thought “Hey, we can easily club both together - the family trip and the 10th anniversary celebration of our K-K drive!”

Over the next few days, I put forth this idea to My wife and also Avinash. Both liked the idea and asked me to work out details of how I plan to combine the two.

[hemanth.anand]

PLANNING AND PREPARATION

Checking my WhatsApp messages now, on May 1, 2022, I made this proposal to a broader group of 5 friends and their families. This was the message I sent them…

Hello people, We are planning a Ladakh trip in August 2022. This is to mark the 10th anniversary of our previous Ladakh trip. The plan is that the husbands (currently I have discussed with Avinash) drive the Tata Safari till Leh. Wives and kids will land directly in Leh by flight. We can go around Leh in Tata Safari for 5-6 days and then again wives and kids return in flight and we drive back. We'll hire another vehicle in Leh for sightseeing. Approximate per family cost will be 1.5lakhs. Please check and let me know.

All of them were interested and we decided to meet and make a more detailed plan. That meet happened on May 7th and I was astonished that all 5 families were ready (it had never happened in the past!). All of us put forth our convenient dates considering the holidays in our respective offices and the common dates were between August 6th and August 21st.

Avinash, Vishwa and I who were part of the 2012 had no problems to plan our leave at office for all 16 days. BHPian pumpy_raj a.k.a Rajesh who had to miss the 2012 drive due to unavoidable circumstances, needed couple of days time to speak to his manager at office before confirming. The fifth person Anil said that he can only plan for a week and not more. Two days later Rajesh confirmed in positive too. However, he said that his wife would not be able to join. He said that it would be just his 11-year-old son who would be joining us. So, it became a big group of 15 people (9 adults and 6 kids).

The rough idea was that 4 of us (Avinash, Rajesh, Vishwa and I) would start from Bengaluru in the car and by the time we reach Leh, all the remaining 11 members would land in Leh by air. After 6-7 days of doing the basic Leh Circuit, 11 people would fly back and we 4 start our drive back home.

With this idea, it was decided that we start in car on Aug 6th and reach Leh on 11th where all others would join us. August 17th would be when we would head back towards home; 11 people taking the flight and 4 of us in car.

I named the Whatsapp group as Cha10 ChaLeh – it reads as chalo chalein in Hindi meaning come let’s go signifying the big group going together and the '10' and 'Leh' signifying the fact that this would be the trip to celebrate the 10th year anniversary of our Leh trip of 2012

With dates finalized, I applied for leave at my office on May 11th and got it approved. Then the immediate next task was to book flight tickets which I did the next day. Others also got their leave days approved at office over the next few days.

With this done, it was time to make further bookings. Although I generally do the planning and bookings myself, with families involved, the group suggested that we take a package tour. I played it safe and agreed. In the next week, we enquired with 3 known travel agents and decided to go ahead with one of them.

I was the SPOC for the travel agent and there were multiple loops of discussions with him. Tweaking and changing the plan, places to be covered and activities to be done, price negotiations and acting as a mediator for all the questions from the group…trust me it was not easy . All this took one full month and on June 18th, we paid the advance and booked the travel package. This was the package itinerary that was finalized (It was probably the 10th version)


Leh, Ladakh Package 6 Nights / 7 Days

• Day 1, Thu 11.8.22: Arrive at Leh by flight. Transfer to hotel, Acclimatize. Overnight in hotel at Leh.
• Day 2, Fri 12.8.22: Hall of fame, Magnetic hill, Sangam, Gurudwara, Shanti stupa. Overnight in hotel at Leh.
• Day 3, Sat 13.8.22: Leh to Nubra Valley via Khardungla, Diskit Monastery. Overnight in camp at Hunder.
• Day 4, Sun 14.8.22: Hunder to Turtuk (former Baltistan) and back. Overnight in camp at Hunder.
• Day 5, Mon 15.8.22: Hunder to Pangong Lake Via Shyok. Overnight in camp at Pangong
• Day 6, Tue 16.8.2022: Pangong to Leh via Changla, Thiksey and Shey Monasteries. Overnight in hotel at Leh.
• Day 7, Wed 17.8.2022: Departure from Leh to Bengaluru.

Between all these things, I had to do all the planning for our road-trip. I had 3 things in my bucket list for this road trip:

1. Drive to Umlingla - The reigning highest motorable road in the world.
2. Drive to the centre of India - Since we have previously driven to the 4 corners of the country.
3. Drive on the Kistwar-Killar road – supposed to be one of the most dangerous roads in the country.

Over and above this, we had couple of restrictions and conditions:

1. Our Safari was now more than 10 years old, and taking it inside Delhi was not allowed. We had to bypass the National Capital.
2. We wanted to repeat as less places from our 2012 trip as possible and cover as many new places as possible.

Accordingly, I made my initial plan as below:


Initial plan

I ran this plan among my co-passengers. They told me that I had the full freedom to do all the planning and I can just inform them of the final plan, and they’d just follow it. I then started reading all the information available on TBHP and various other travel forums for latest road conditions, new roads, POIs etc.

While I was working on this, I was attending a college friend’s family gathering on May 22nd. At the function, 5 of us were sitting together chatting with each other as this was a gathering after a very long time (thanks to Covid). Just like that, one of them, Anoop, asked me “It’s been so long since you went on a long road trip…have you planned something this year?”. I told him that as a matter of fact, I have planned one and I just completed booking the flights.

He was immediately ready to join but he couldn’t get his entire family. Two more were also interested but again for various reasons, they were not in a situation to get their families too. I shared my plan, and they all told me that we should also plan something similar.

Everyone of them told me that if I join, they would be ready to do it in 2023. I agreed and we closed the topic there. But after couple of weeks, Anoop called me again and he said that he had convinced the other 3 and they also wanted to do this in his Ertiga in 2022 itself. Their available dates were almost same except that they wanted to start on 4th of August. I was honestly surprised because I had not expected them to be ready so soon!

While everyone of us are experienced drivers, we four in Safari differ in some respects when it comes driving in comparison to 4 of them. Couple of major differences are:

• They prefer night driving and are late risers, we are early risers and prefer to start early and drive during the day.
• We prefer booking all hotels in advance and set a goal for the day, they prefer finding a hotel in any location that they are in at some cut-off time.

So, we agreed that we can be together in Ladakh, but we can take different routes with no dependability on each other. Since it was their first drive to Ladakh, we planned a similar route that we took in 2012. This was the initial plan.


Initial Plan for Ertiga

As we were planning, one of them had to drop out due to some unplanned official trip. They still did not cancel the plans and only 3 decided to go. Due to this, they made some small modifications but overall, they stuck to their planned route. This was their final plan before leaving. They were prepared to be extremely flexible and make changes on the go.


Final plan for Ertiga

While I was booking the flights for the 5 families, one day, one of my colleagues overheard me and asked me what I was planning. He was also very much interested but the dates were not matching. He asked me to talk to my travel agent and get him also the same plan but a week earlier. Same thing happened with my wife’s colleague too and they too did the same but 2 days earlier than us. So in total I was involved in planning trips for 4 different groups. My wife was joking that I should become a travel agent myself!!

What these 4 plans did was it helped me in getting the entire map in my head (I’m generally poor at this) and the most important thing was that, since all others were going before us, we would get the latest road status in advance. This would help me in tweaking our plan if needed.

Talking about tweaking, I called up our helpful DBHPian paragsachania on June 3rd to take his suggestions, feedback, and improvement points. I’m always amazed at people like Parag how they have map details at the back of their hand always! Parag told me that he’d connect me to another avid traveller, Madhu, who would be the best person with this. He told me that he does a Himalayan Road trip at least once every year and had recently returned from Ladakh and is a very resourceful person.

On June 13th, Parag setup a conference call with Madhu. How correct was Parag! Talking to Madhu was the best thing that could’ve happened. Not only did he help me with planning the route, but he also shared detailed co-ordinates and information throughout the trip. Hotels, road conditions, alternate options…everything and much more. During the route planning options, he first patiently listened to me as to what I want, what is our driving patterns and preferences etc. Only after that, he suggested changes that suited us. If not for him, I’d never have taken the routes that we finally did and we’re truly grateful to him for sharing his knowledge and guidance.

Change1:
He suggested that instead of doing Keylong-Kishtwar, Kishtwar-Srinagar, Srinagar-Kargil and Kargil-Leh over 4 days, it is better to do Keylong-Kishtwar-Keylong, Keylong-Padum and Padum-Lingshed-Leh over 3 days. He said that the thrilling road we were seeking near Kistwar-Killar was no more as thrilling as it used to be. Hence he suggested that we drive only till Azhaal falls near Killar and return back and stay in Keylong.
From Keylong we can do the Zanskar circuit of Keylong-Padum-Leh. With this, not only will we not repeat the Srinagar-Leh route which we had done in our previous trip, but also get to do the less explored Zanskar circuit.

Change2:
Instead of returning back with the entire group from Pangong to Leh and then going to Hanle, Madhu suggested us to go to Hanle directly from Pangong. Again, this would mean that we will not repeat the Pangong to Leh road and get to do the more adventurous Pangong-Chushul-Hanle route.
Furthermore, he told me to visit Umlingla in the morning than doing it in the evening.

Change 3:
He suggested us to take the Loma-Dungti-Koyul-Hanle route as it was more adventurous. However, he advised us to be flexible in this section and check with locals for latest conditions.

I accepted all the changes and below is how the almost-final plan looked like on Jun 16th.


Updated plan

I showed it to the other 3 and they had no issues whatsoever in general. But they were sceptical about the first three days. They thought that Bengaluru-Nagpur, Nagpur-Agra and Agra-Manali would be too hectic even with 4 drivers. While Parag and Madhu said that we could do this easily, the group felt that I should try to change it if possible.

With the flights already booked, the only option to change without affecting much was that we start a day earlier. Rajesh said that he could not take more leave at office. So, everyone agreed to this plan although not entirely confident with it.

One thing that Madhu categorically told me was to book a Homestay in Hanle immediately as there are very few good options there and it would get filled up soon. He gave me the contact of Padma Lodge at Hanle too. I checked various sites and sent a message too. On Booking.com I found that Padma homestay was available and immediately I booked it. I got the confirmation email also the next day. The mail said that I need to pay directly at the homestay. It even had a separate note saying that I would be contacted if any advance was needed.

By June 26th, I had booked accommodation at Padum for one night and Keylong for three nights by paying the necessary advance amounts.

On June 27th I wrote an email to Booking.com asking them the exact co-ordinates of the homestay and payment terms. From then on, I had called them almost every day and they asked me to call me a day later while they confirm with the homestay. On July1st I got an email from Booking.com that my booking was cancelled because I had not made the prepayment!!! I called up the customer care again and gave them a piece of my mind and they finally wrote back saying that they didn’t have rooms for the dates I was looking for. I don’t know whose problem it was, but it was not the experience I expected.

Immediately I looked for other homestays and I found one Milky way homestay. Called them up and checked availability. He had a triple bedroom with attached bathroom and another dormitory. We were ok with this and booked it right away by paying them the advance. The next day I even Booked a homestay in Tso-Moriri.

The stay for the remaining day in Ladakh was part of the package tour. and all the way till Himachal we had lot of options and hence I decided to book them closer to the travel date.

On Jul 2nd we gave the Safari for it’s annual service which was anyway due and we told the service advisor to be really thorough as we are planning a trip to Ladakh. Apart from the regular service, the clutch plates, the brake pads, brake discs and the suspension bushes were replaced too. The vehicle was taking more than usual time to start-up and the wipers were operating really slow. So, the wiper motor was replaced and there was new coil winding made for the starter motor. They took 10 days with an overall bill of 45k!

Meanwhile we were continuously checking with Rajesh if he can manage one additional day leave at office. He told us that he’ll try his level best but can’t confirm anything early. In one of the discussions, we got an idea and decided that on the afternoon/evening of Friday, August 5th (a day earlier than planned), we’ll drive a small distance and reach Kurnool. Rajesh told that in the worst case, he’d take a bus/train in the night and reach Kurnool the next morning and then from there we can go together. Although this meant that Rajesh might not be fully rested for Day2, we felt it was a good compromise to driving huge distances that we are not fully confident about.

The Bengaluru-Nagpur-Sonipat-Keylong over 3 days was changed to Bengaluru-Kurnool-Jabalpur-Panipat-Keylong over 3.5 days. So, I made hotel Bookings in Kurnool and Jabalpur on Jul 9th.

Closer to the Actual start date, Rajesh came with a news that he can take additional half a day leave and we can start at 14:00 from his office on Friday. This was good news overall as we all could go together from the beginning and Rajesh would be fully rested on Day 2 as well.

On July 15th I booked a Hotel in Panipat too. With this, hotels for the entire onward journey and half of the return journey were booked. The remaining, I decided to book it as and when needed. The final plan looked like this…


Final Plan

With Hotel bookings in place and Vehicle service completed, we slowly started collecting things that would be needed for the trip. The first thing that we did was to purchase a traction board. In our 2012 trip, our car was stuck in sand and had to be towed out. Our wooden DIY traction board wasn’t of much help. Hence this time we purchased a good traction board, the ones generally seen on 4x4 vehicles. So I purchased this from Swastikfabs Bengaluru. When the item arrived, it was bigger than I expected and took a lot of space in the boot. So, we decided to tie it on the roof using motorcycle tie-down straps. Although the red thing would look ugly in pictures, it was more important than looks.

One major modification (probably the first one for the SUV) that we did to the Safari was the headlamp upgrade. The stock headlamps were slightly brighter than a candle. We seriously don’t know how we did so many trips with those lamps. We left it at our trusted accessory shop “High-Definition Cars” on Bhannerughatta road for this upgrade. We upgraded the headlamps to an LED projector setup. We also added Hella Auxiliary lamps. These 4 lamps made sure that whatever little night driving we do, will be stress free for us.

A friend of mine was returning from the US and we got a 2 channel Thinkware dashcam. This was also installed at High-Definition cars. Meanwhile Vishwa arranged for a small handy gas stove for emergency purposes

20 days before the flight and two weeks before our road trip started, Rajesh informed me of a good change. His wife was successful in obtaining leave from her work and she was also ready to join. Rajesh immediately booked flight tickets for her-the same flight as others. Even though it was slightly expensive than couple of other flight options, Rajesh booked her the same flight as others so that everyone would be together.

With this new addition, we did one more round of negotiation with the travel agent. Once this was finalised, we made the full package payment to the agent on 29th July and checked that item off the list.

After this, Avinash took the vehicle on a trip to Sakaleshapura over a weekend with his friends. This 800kms trip of his would be like a preparatory run. This would help identify things that need attention if any, any fresh issues, etc. This would also help us in making sure that the traction board tied on the roof would stay on the roof even at highway speeds.

When he returned, the vehicle was running perfectly well with no issues whatsoever. Avinash was mighty impressed with the performance of the headlamps and the aux lamps. The tie-down straps held the traction board on the roof very well too.

With a week to go, we purchased medical kit with all basic medicines, first aid kit, the most important Diamox tablets in case of HAMS among others. In 2012, we were just 4 young men, but this time we had families with kids in the age 5.5 to 11 years age group. The excitement of all the wives had now turned into anxiety. Friends and families everyone was talking about HAMS, Low Oxygen density in the Himalayas and this made them more worried. Even though we knew that we will not need oxygen cylinders, with kids, everyone was extra-cautious, we purchased small portable 5L oxygen cylinders too.

Just a day before our trip, we purchased snacks that would be needed in the car. This included biscuits, dry fruits, friend snacks, chocolates, trail mixes etc. On the same day. We also kept a 25ltr water can and a 10ltr Jerry can in the boot.

I also purchased a long new tow rope of 5Tonne capacity. A shorter tow rope (2T capacity) which I already had, was given to the other group in the Ertiga along with a 5ltr fuel can when I waved them off on August 4th evening.

Thursday, 4th August 2022
We were just a day before the actual start. The Ertiga arrived at my home in the afternoon to collect the towrope and fuel can. My friend Anoop and his elder brother Ashvin who live near my home were in the car. Another friend Harsha would be picked up on the way. I wished them a happy journey. We were anyway scheduled to meet the next week at Leh.

After my office hours, I started to keep all the things that I need to carry in one place and check off items one after the other. We did one last conference call before the trip and everyone else had packed up everything.

Since Rajesh would be the last person to start after attending his office for half a day, we didn’t want to waste time after he left office. Avinash who lives close by, collected all his luggage, and kept in his home. Vishwa lives on the opposite side of the city. The plan would be that everyone reaches my home in the morning, we pack the vehicle, have lunch, and pick Rajesh up and depart.

That evening, like always before such big trips, I had butterflies in my tummy. While I had everything that we need and more, there was a strange feeling that I’ve left out something. Although I slept well that night, it took an hour or so to get sleep after I hit the bed! Anxiety, Excitement, Eagerness, Nervousness, what do they call that funny feeling?

[hemanth.anand]

Day 1 | Friday, 5th August 2022 | Bengaluru - Kurnool



Usually The alarm wakes me up at 0600hrs on a Friday. Today was different…I woke the alarm up at 0545

After Breakfast, I started to put all the items that I had kept aside into bags. I topped up the fuel tank just near my home. By 1000hrs, Avinash arrived at my home with Rajesh’s and his luggage. We put all that and my luggage inside the vehicle. Vishwa arrived by around 1100hrs and in some time, everything was inside the vehicle.


All loaded

And...we were ready to go! My family waved us off and we had officially started our trip!

Rajesh was still not home and hence the first stop for us three was for Lunch. We had our lunch at a restaurant near my home. By 1315hrs we reached Rajesh’s home. Anil also had come to flag us off.


All aboard

Our destination for the day was Kurnool. It was a straight 350-400 kms drive on the Hyderabad highway. As soon as we had crossed the city limits, we stopped at a shell petrol bunk just near Nandi. We purchased some Engine oil for the vehicle to top up if needed.

After that it was a straight quick non-stop drive, apart from small photo stop near Kia factory.


On the Highway


The Beast


The Powerhouse


The proud owner


The Kia factory

Avinash who was driving all the while till here gave away the driver seat to Vishwa who drove till Kurnool from there on.


Straight and fast


Some evening scenes


The straight and flat roads continued

We reached Kurnool by 1830hrs and checked into our hotel. We called family members and some friends that we have reached. Some friends told that probably we should have driven all the way till Hyderabad, but we did not want to stress ourselves on the first day itself.

We had a leisurely dinner in the hotel and by 9:00 PM we crashed into our beds because the next day we are planning to leave early. The destination for the next day was Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.

Day Stats
Total Distance: 382 kms
Drive start: 11:30
Drive end: 8:30
Duration: 07:00
Average Speed: 54.6 kmph
States crossed: KA, AP
Fuel filled: Bengaluru, KA at Nayara at ₹90.89 per ltr

[hemanth.anand]

Day 2 | Saturday, 6th August 2022 | Kurnool to Jabalpur



The drive for the day was more than 1000 kilometres, so we had planned to leave at 0500hrs in the morning. I got up at 0400hrs and along with Avinash, we were near the vehicle by 0500hrs. Rajesh and Vishwa hadn’t slept well the previous night. Hence they couldn’t get ready so early and they were at the vehicle at around 0530hrs. We had some tea in a local tea shop and left at 0610hrs.


Hot tea to start the day


One of the few places to be open

Rajesh started the day at the wheel. Our first stop was for breakfast after 2 hours and 150kms later where we had our last south Indian breakfast for quite a few days to come.


Poori for breakfast

The breakfast break was for around 30 minutes and by 0830hrs we were on the road again. We were on the famous Hyderabad Ring road by 0900hrs. This was the first time Rajesh was driving on the Hyderabad Ring Road and he was really happy that he could put pedal to metal. But we reminded him that there are speed guns on the highway and I had once paid a fine for over speeding some years ago. We asked him to maintain a steady 100kmph on the ring road. Although he was initially thrilled to drive on this wide road, it soon got boring because of the speed limit


Rajiv Gandhi ring road

The 70 kilometres drive on the Hyderabad Ring Road took us around 45 minutes and we were soon at Medchal Toll Plaza. Rajesh was astonished looking at the toll prices because the price for 70 kilometres was ₹140. Although this is a fair costing, for us Bengalureans who see the toll prices of NICE road, this feels like a steal. Rajesh continued to drive and our next stop was for refueling near a place called Bhiknoor in Telangana. It was the first refueling stop after 700 plus kilometres of driving. At around 1130hrs we stopped for a small tea break


Tea break

After the tea break, Vishwa switched over to the driver seat. Rajesh had driven 390kms since morning. The road condition was nice and it was almost empty on that day. After having driven around 80-90 kms, Vishwa started saying that the brakes were feeling weird and spongy. He asked Rajesh if he had also felt the same way, but Rajesh said no. Vishwa was still not happy with the brakes but he drove on. After crossing Adilabad, after Vishwa had driven 150kms at a toll called Pippalwada, Vishwa almost crashed into the toll gate and we were like shocked. Luckily, the fastag worked just in time and the toll gate opened. Vishwa told that the brake pedal just went in and did not stop the vehicle. He was pretty sure that there was something wrong with the brakes.


Green NH44


Cockpit view

He stopped the vehicle, Avinash switched over to the driver seat and within a kilometre, he affirmed that the brakes were not stopping the vehicle the way it should. The brake pedal was sinking in slowly; the vehicle was slowing down but then we could not stop and the brake pedal was sunk and it was taking ages to come back to position.

We put the vehicle to the side and I opened the service booklet to find the nearest service station. We found one in Adilabad. It was around 15kms behind us. We decided to get the brakes checked before moving further. I called the Adilabad dealer and informed them about our travel and that we want quick resolution. The dealer connected to the service advisor and he asked us if we could still manage to drive it and if yes, he told us to get the vehicle in the service station.

We drove carefully and reached Adilabad service station at around 1400hrs. The service people were informed by this time and they inspected the vehicle immediately. They couldn’t find anything wrong in the vehicle. They went on a test drive and did some hard braking tests and the vehicle was stopping. Avinash went with them and he also tried hard braking and the brakes were ok. We were not charged anything for this but wondering what had happened, we were ready to proceed ahead.


An unscheduled maintenance stop


Brake break

During this break we decided to have lunch at Adilabad itself. I saw Swiggy had operations, so decided to order food while the test drives were happening which would save us some time. By the time the service centre finished their work, we finished lunch.

We resumed our journey and Avinash was testing the brakes all the way till we rejoined the highway again at 1545hrs. He was braking hard all the time and the brakes were good. After another 50kms, Avinash started saying that the brakes were actually not working properly. He tried different ways and found out that upon hard braking, the brakes work but slowly, the pedal starts sinking in and the brakes could not hold the vehicle. Pumping the brakes multiple times was the only way to stop the vehicle.

This was a brake failure no doubt but the vehicle was still controllable. We decided to move on and get it checked at the next big city. We had Nagpur and Jabalpur and I searched for all Tata service centres. I couldn’t get any response from Nagpur service centres so we decided to drive all the way till our planned destination of Jabalpur. A calculated risk that we took. We also decided not to tell this to our families because the word "Brake failure" always leads to panic, thanks to our movies.

The next day being a Sunday was a challenge however. We called Frontier motors and one Mr. Gagandeep Singh confirmed to us that they are open on Sunday and they can service the Safari Dicor and he asked us to get the vehicle at 1000hrs as soon as they open.

Between all this, BHPians Paragsachania, Gannu and MCR who were following my Whatsapp statuses were also chatting with me and I informed them about these developments. Manoj in particular used his network and gave us many contacts in Bosch that might be helpful for us.

Now our complete focus was on driving safely. We were carefully making good progress even with brakes not working the way it should. At around sunset time, after having driven 250kms, Avinash stopped for a tea break after crossing Nagpur.


Kachori with tea

Rajesh took the wheel again from here. He was the most confident among all of us about handling the vehicle that day and his driving style also kind of suited the brake conditions. We had around 275kms still left in the day.

To add to the challenge, it started to rain after Rajesh took the wheel! The drive through Pench was in dark and rainy conditions, which slowed us down further. We had dinner near Seoni around 2030hrs.


Highway food for Dinner


Colourful man!


The heart of India

After Dinner, we refueled once before Jabalpur and finally, we reached our Jabalpur Hotel just before midnight.

Our plan for the next day was to go to a place called Karaundi, which is the geographical centre of India and from there to Panipat-a total of 1000kms again. With the condition of brakes that we had, we were unsure if we can still achieve this plan. So, we decided to be dynamic and depending on how things pan out, be ready to alter our plans. After having driven so much with such brakes, we were now confident about driving the vehicle on normal roads without any dangers.

So we decided that we will leave early from Jabalpur and go to Karaundi before returning to Jabalpur to get the brakes fixed. With that decision, we shut down for the day.

Day Stats
Total Distance: 1062
Drive start: 5:50
Drive end: 23:36
Duration: 17:46
Average Speed: 62.5
States crossed: AP, TS, MH, MP
Fuel filled at: Bhiknoor, Telangana at IOC at ₹98.59 per ltr & Dhuma, MP at IOC at ₹94.29 per ltr

[hemanth.anand]

Day 3 | Sunday, 7th Aug 2022 | Jabalpur - Karaundi - Jabalpur - Jhansi



We were ready by 0600hrs and checked out from our hotel. Avinash took the wheel and being early morning and with slight drizzle, we made good progress as the roads were still empty.


Drizzling day

We reached the village of Karaundi by 0730. The small village and the residents of it were looking at us like aliens It was a wonderful moment for me and the Safari…after having been to all 4 corners of the country we were at the centre of the country literally!


Airavatha at the Geographical centre of India

There is a small monument with a pillar and the GPS co-ordinates inscribed on it. The national emblem in on top of the monument. The tourism department has maintained it decently well but otherwise it’s almost a deserted location.


The monument


At the heart of India


The Co-ordinates


4 Lions

We spent some 45 minutes taking pictures in the pleasant weather and then headed back.


Where time has stood still!

Enroute there was a place called Umaria pan where there were many small restaurants opening for the day and we stopped at one such place where lot of Jalebis and local sweets and local breakfast items were being prepared. All of us together enjoyed all the various items like Poha, Kachori, Samosa, Jalebi, Jamoon to our stomachs full.



Jalebi!! - Who remembers that Dhara oil advertisement?!


Samosa


Alka Hotel - he gave his Instagram ID told us to follow his channel!


Milk - for Rajesh who had got a special coffee powder from Bengaluru

We were told that this small town is famous for it’s pan and hence its name Umaria Pan. There were many Pan stores but since it was early in the day, we did not try it. By 0900hrs, we resumed our journey back to Jabalpur.

We reached the Tata service station at Madan Mahal at 1030hrs. Since we had already spoken to Mr. Gagandeep from frontier motors, he put us across to SA Mr. Ali. He immediately got our vehicle inspected and within 15 minutes, informed us that the brake master cylinder must be replaced. He checked the stocks and then gave us the bad news. He told it will take 7-8 days for the part!!!

We did not have so much time. All of us started making calls to all the people we knew trying to source the part. Ali also told us that this part is a standard part and multiple manufacturers like Bosch, TVS-Lucas, Delphi has those parts. So we started to find out all dealers/shops that could help us get this part. But Being a Sunday did not help.

While we were doing this, Ali came to us and asked if we would be ok with a used part from another Safari. We thought about it and found that as a fair option at that time. Ali connected us to another local garage who can do it for us since he had this part from a salvaged Safari. So by around 1230hrs we went to that garage.

By the time he could check the brakes, I was successful in reaching out to a dealer “Fair deal” who had this part in stock. The owner Yash was really helpful and he came and opened his store on Sunday just for us. It was a great relief. It was a TVS-Lucas part. We decided to get it installed in that garage itself. The mechanic there told that he’ll inspect the rear brakes too and he cleaned it for us. By that time we got the spare part from the dealer to the garage and the replacement work started.


Checking the rear brakes too

That sorted, we started to plan our next drive. As per original plan was to drive to Panipat which was close to a 1000kms. With more than half a day lost, we were surely not driving till Panipat. So I cancelled the booking in Panipat.

One option was to stay in Jabalpur itself that day, push our arrival date at Panipat and Keylong by a day. Since we had to arrive in Leh on 11th when our family would land, we decided to strike off a day in Keylong (where we had planned 3 days and 2 nights) and cancel the Keylong-Killar 1-day trip.

But later Vishwa suggested that instead of spending the remaining half a day in Jabalpur, we should cover some distance. This was a good idea as it would mean that the next two days to Keylong will be more relaxed. Very soon, we decided that we can reach Jhansi which is 400kms drive from Jabalpur. Instead of 1000+450kms we would drive 400+700+350 kms. With that sorted, I made a booking at Jhansi. I also called the owner of the Keylong hotel, explained him our situation and told him that we will reach a day late.

We ordered our lunch on Swiggy. By this time the brakes were repaired too. While Avinash and Rajesh went on a test drive, we received the food delivery and I also called up and thanked everyone that helped us source the part. With the brakes back to normal, we made the payment to the garage and we were ready to leave at 1500.

After 30 minutes where we were out on the Jabalpur-Sagar SH37, we stopped at a nice place under a tree and finished our Lunch.


Lunch break

We joined the NH44 at Sagar. We were happy that we rejoined the 4-Lane highway and we zoom ahead;


Back on the 4 Lane highway again

But our happiness was short-lived as we got to experience the infamous cattle-highways of MP. The previous day probably we were lucky not to experience, but today the cattle made sure we see it all. On one hand the highways are nicely built for high speeds but on the other hand, the cattle is left on the open highways.

I was made to understand that most of these are bulls that are neither useful for agricultural activities nor useful for dairy. Since cow-slaughter is banned, they are just left out on the highways. The farmers can’t afford to look after these that are of no use.

Sitting, sleeping, playing, territorial fights, mating, death…you can see the entire life cycle of cattle on these highways. We were used to seeing stray dogs dead on the road, but seeing dead cattle on the road was disturbing and scary. Huge trucks are still fine, but if cars hit, then it’s a total loss. We were really careful and all 4 of us were watching - A total of 8+6 eyes were on the road so that we don’t get into any accidents. If there is one term I can say…It is Holy Cow!


Holy cow!


Cow-nference


Everyone has to be careful of these

With all these, we covered the 400+ kms quite quickly I must say. Vishwa drove the Last 35kms and we reached our Jhansi hotel at 2130hrs.


Night lamp

We had our dinner at leisure and only now did we inform our family members about the entire saga.


This was a nice dish at the restaurant

By the time we slept, it was around 2330hrs.

Day stats
Total Distance: 601kms
Drive start: 06:10
Drive end: 21:00
Duration: 14:50
Average Speed: 42.9kmph
States crossed: MP, UP

[hemanth.anand]

Day 4 | Monday, 8th August 2022 | Jhansi to Chandigarh



Either because were getting used to the routine or probably it’s the age factor, we were all up and ready by 0600hrs. We checked out of the hotel, readied the car and started our drive by 0630hrs! Rajesh started the day. It was raining throughout and our first stop was after 100kms for Breakfast on the Gwalior bypass at around 0815. We had some parathas and sandwiches for breakfast and overall, the break took around 45minutes.

Rajesh resumed the drive while I started to look for accommodation at Chandigarh and booked one. Rajesh drove non-stop till after Mathura where we stopped for a tea break. Mathura effect or what we don't know, but we had some Krishna and Mahabharatha with us...


Krishnarjuna Bhagavadgita


Radha Krishna


Krishna most of the times reminds me of Peacock

After the tea Rajesh was fresh again and he wanted to continue driving. Pretty soon we were at the Peripheral expressway when we stopped for a bio-break. Having driven close to 350kms, Rajesh gave the keys to Avinash.


Dilli Ab door nahin!


Purest vegetarian restaurant I've ever seen

Since the Safari is a 10+ year old Diesel vehicle, it will not be allowed inside Delhi and hence we had planned to drive on the peripheral expressway. We took the western side just because google told it is faster! Our plan was to have a late lunch at Murthal.

At this time, one of my ex-colleagues saw one of my pictures on my Whatsapp status and he called me asking me where I was. I told I was on the WPEW and he immediately asked me to visit him in his office just outside Gurugram. There were 4 of my ex-colleagues working in the same company and he told I could meet 3 of them on the way. I checked with other 3 in the car and they agreed since it was a relaxed day anyway. At around 1430hrs we went there for a quick catchup/coffee break. After spending quality 30-45 minutes with them, we bid goodbye at 1515hrs.

Since Murthal would take too much time for lunch, we stopped for lunch even before rejoining the WPEW. We had some nice butter kulcha and paneer butter masala.


roti and paneer butter masala


lemon for some tang

It was almost 1600hrs when we resumed our drive with Avinash at the wheel. He drove till we crossed the WPEW and reached Sonipat.


Sunset near Sonipat

I took the wheel and drove the remaining 250kms to our hotel in Chandigarh. It was 2015hrs when we reached the hotel Sunpark.

The check-in experience was a bad one. First, when I showed the booking, the lady at the reception counter asked us to wait in the lounge and they’ll call us. Even after 10 minutes, we were not attended to. Then I saw that a foreign visitor who came was immediately checked in. This irritated me and I went to the reception desk again and the lady who asked us wasn’t there at all and the others were not bothered. After I spoke to them, they checked us in.

Meantime, Avinash was clicking some pictures in the lounge for his Google review purpose. One of the receptionists came and told Avinash not to click pictures in the reception!! It seemed strange and he asked what was the reason. He rudely replied that clicking pictures in the reception is not allowed. Avinash, who is generally the calmest person of the group was irked and he replied back to the receptionist saying that if this was the rule, they should be displaying a board and not talk rudely to guests. This entire thing left a bad taste in our experience but we didn’t allow those 30 minutes to spoil our mood.

After we moved into our rooms, we ordered food to the room. The room had a pool view and, on that day, there was a big party in the pool area with loud music! So loud that even with all windows closed, we were able to hear it loudly. We were not complaining though; with the music set, we were having our own small dinner party.


Pool View

Because of this, we didn’t realize how quickly time flew by. It was midnight by the time we finished dinner and slept! With only 400kms to drive the next day we were relaxed.

Day Stats
Total Distance: 762kms
Drive start: 06:35
Drive end: 20:00
Duration: 13:25
Average Speed: 58.6kmph
States crossed: UP, MP, RJ, HR, PB, CH
Fuel filled at:Jaurasi, Gwalior, MP at IOC at ₹94.11 per ltr

[hemanth.anand]

Day 5 | Tuesday, 9th August 2022| Chandigarh - Keylong



Because we had slept late, compared to our usual time, we were late by an hour to wake up and get ready the next day. After checkout we were ready to move by 0700hrs.

Rajesh started the day again. Not sure if it was the food or not, but Avinash woke up with a bad stomach. While he was recovering in the rear seat, we first stopped for a fuel top up at Mohali and the next stop was at 0900hrs at a Dhabha somewhere before Kiratpur Sahib. This was a 45minute break where we had some authentic yummy parathas. Meanwhile Vishwa was busy on call making cab arrangements for his wife and kids on August 11th early morning. With breakfast done, we were all set to leave the flat lands behind and ascend!


4 Lane highway...something we will not see for the next 10 days

This aggravated Avinash’s problems and we had to take multiple bio breaks. He was finding it tough to sit in the rear seat due to his bad stomach coupled with his motion sickness in mountain roads. He wanted to drive so that he could keep his mind occupied. He drove for around 10kms but was still not feeling good. So, he took a tablet and gave the steering wheel to Vishwa and he tried to sleep.

Add to all these, we encountered couple of huge traffic jams - one due to an accident and another due to some political protest in Sundernagar.


Traffic jam purchase


Perfect for the weather

By the time we crossed Mandi and stopped for Lunch beside Beas river, it was 1400hrs.


Simple lunch


The restaurant

45 minutes later, we resumed our drive. It was a cloudy and pleasant weather throughout and it was a wonderful drive alongside the Beas.


Along the Beas


Reservoir


Carving the mountains


The Big Mac

We reached the famous Aut Tunnel at around 1600hrs. We crossed Manali and stopped for some tea and evening snacks near Vashist.


Inside Aut


On the the other side of the Aut Tunnel


Green beauty


Beautiful, fast roads


Chenab river bed


High beauty


Vasisth Falls


The Momos were delicious


We called the owner of the hotel and informed him that we’re on our way and he estimated that we would reach by 1930hrs. Rajesh took the driver seat from here and we moved on.


Scenic

By 1830hrs we were at the south end of the famous Atal Tunnel. We stopped for couple of pictures.


The Atal


Longest Highway tunnel above 10000mtrs above MSL

Rajesh got so excited seeing the tunnel that he revved hard and was thinking of entering the tunnel fast. But just before the tunnel, a policeman came out waving at us to stop. We three shouted in chorus asking Rajesh to stop. Instead of stopping there itself, Rajesh drove past and stopped by the side of the road some 50mtrs away. The police guy waved us to come back and obviously he was not in a good mood. He gave a mouthful to us and then asked us to open the boot. Because of what we did, he made sure he checked our baggage thoroughly.

There was nothing objectionable except one. We had a small gas cylinder stove in our luggage which he told he cannot allow inside the tunnel. Even after we explained he told us to go back, throw away the cylinder and then come.


No Entry

Me and Vishwa stayed back and asked Rajesh and Avinash to do something about the cylinder. They drove back around 5 kms and found a tea shop where they gave the cylinder and came back.


Lights on!

They took easily 30 minutes by which time we both had started shivering as the temperatures started to drop down quickly. The policeman was also asking “Kahan chale gaye” multiple times. Upon their return, we both hopped onto the car for some warmth. The policeman checked our vehicle once again in detail and finally at 1910hrs, allowed us to go through.


Atal Airavatha


Inside the Atal tunnel

By 1925 we were on the other side of the tunnel. In all this we could not really appreciate the tunnel as we three were busy taking Rajesh to task for what he did!


Past the Rohtang in 15 mins. It used to take half a day earlier!

It got dark later on and our next stop was at Tandi we filled up the fuel tank and also filled up the additional 10ltr tank we had. By the time we reached our hotel in Keylong, it was 2030hrs.

We checked in and immediately went to the dining hall. The owner Sonamji came to the dining hall and spoke to us for a few minutes asking us about the brake failure. He was also surprised why we took an hour more than his estimate which is when we explained him the story of what happened at the tunnel.

After a nice hot and delicious dinner, we informed the staff that we would like to leave early the next morning and asked for the bill. The owner told that since we had anyway paid the advance for 3 nights (2 nights during the onward journey and 1 night during the return leg), we could settle it when we come back again. With that, we hit the bed.

Day Stats
Total Distance: 397kms
Drive start: 05:55
Drive end: 17:45
Duration: 11:50
Average Speed: 36.1kmph
States crossed: CH, PB, HP
Fuel filled at: Tandi, HP at IOC at ₹84.88per ltr

[hemanth.anand]

Day 6 | Wednesday, 10th August 2022 | Keylong-Shinkula-Padum



The next morning we were up by 0500hrs. Avinash went to the car first thing in the morning and started it. It started at the first crank and he was relieved.


Waking up to this beautiful view


The Bhaga river


It started on the first crank

By 0545hrs all of us were ready to leave. Our destination of the day was Padum -the capital of Zanskar.
Sonamji also woke up and he had arranged for hot tea for us. While having tea, he informed us that he had returned from Padum couple of days ago and there was nothing to worry about the route. Although he had a Gyspy, he told that Safari will be able to manage well.


Perfect setting for a cup of Coffee


Sonamji, gem of a person

He told that because of the Dalai Lama’s visit to Padum, roads were all in good condition to help people visit. After a selfie, we started at 0615hrs with Avinash at the driver’s seat. Healthwise, he was back to normal.


Moving up


Golgen glow

By 0700hrs, we reached Darcha Check-out. After an entry at the check-out, I called my wife to tell her that for the next two day, till I meet her at Leh, I'll not have any network connectivity. We took some pictures at the new Barsi bridge.


No network ahead!


18mm


52mm


104mm


Going up


The sepoys


Airavatha


Barsi Bridge

We moved from the Bridge; At the second hairpin bend, the route to Leh switches back to the right while the route to Shinkula top goes straight ahead. The road till the Shinkula top was freshly tarred and it was a beautiful, quick and easy drive. Enroute we ate the packed sandwiches. I'll let the pictures do the talking now...


Some energy for the morning


New road


Safari among the clouds


The path maker


Is this the road to heaven?


Colours of nature


Well marked path


Glacier water


Long exposure


Snaking through


Shelter for the builder


Out comes the peak!


Driving into the clouds


Rakshak of the road


Day 6 to be continued...

[hemanth.anand]

...Day 6 continued

The shinkula top is around 70kms from Keylong and we were there at 0830hrs. Shinkula is right at the border of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh at an altitude of 16580ft above MSL.


Zanskar Valley Entry


View from the top


Snow cap


Flying High


Airavatha at 16580ft

Sun was shining bright which amplified the nice green/turquoise colours of the lake on top.


Turquoise beauty


The Shinkula Lake

But it was still cold. Rajesh cannot resist cold as much as we do, so he was in the car covered up in jackets most of the time.


Brrrrrrr!

After some 20minutes at the top we resumed. From the top, we could see it was the end of the tarmac and the real adventure was about to start. At 0850hrs we started the descent to the Zanskar valley.


Our pleasure


The way ahead is not going to be easy

There were many BRO road rollers, excavators and trucks on duty and the road construction work was going on. We slowly descended down the dusty roads.


The roller


The transporter

The beauty was astounding and we were just in awe. Stopped in many places for pictures and slowly making progress. We encountered many water crossings along the way and in some places we were going on the water flow path. Some places there were road construction workers guiding us through the water crossings. The water crossings were deep but nothing that could strand the Safari.


Kurgiak Chu


Spot the Force Traveller


The Yak Herd


Which path will you choose?


Beauty and the Beast


Zig Zags behind us


Down on the valley


Road Ahead


Trying to take it all in


Shinkula behind


Currents picking up


A rare violet


Play of light and shadow

By 1030hrs we reached Gombo Rongjon. It is one majestic stand alone rocky peak and is considered holy by the kurgiakh people. We had covered 75kms so far.


The Gombo Rangjon


Sacred Beauty


The people who were here before us

There was one Maggi point and we decided to stop there for some Maggi and omelette. There was a group of bikers from Pune who had stayed overnight there and preparing to leave to Padum. We exchanged pleasantries and they enquired our route. They were surprised that we had decided to take the lingshed road. The owner of the Maggi point told us that it was good that we came early otherwise the water crossings would’ve got deeper with the rising sun. We enquired if there are any more water crossings. He told there is one big one some distance away and after that there is nothing.


Ek selfie to Banta Hain...

Day 6 to be continued...

[hemanth.anand]

...Day 6 continued

After a 20 minute break at the Maggi point we resumed along with the bikers. For some distance the road was really dusty and hence we let the bikers move in front of us.


Bikers Ahead


Objects in the mirror are larger than they appear


At this point we overtook some


Leaving behind the sacred mountain

Pretty soon we encountered the big water crossing that we were informed about. The crossing was deep and with big rocks. The current was quite strong but the overall length of the crossing was not too much. After 2 bikers crossed with support of each other, they asked us to go ahead. One biker stood on the other side and told us which line to take. We aligned our car and just went for it. At the centre there was a huge rock that literally put the car off its path. But apart from that we crossed it without much drama.

https://youtu.be/glkv9qcOQm4

After crossing this, we had to make a check post entry to move further. We bid goodbye to all bikers here and moved on our way.


Chortens


Sedimentary Giants


Camping site-Tangzay


More Chortens


Dusty roads


Greenery=Civilization


Play of the clouds


70 more kms for the day

Our next stop was Purne where we reached by 1300hrs. There was a rest house / camping site Where we had some tea and juices


Dolma camp site at Purney

Our next plan was to go to Phuktal monastery. There was a 20+yr old local boy who was the son of the owner of that rest house told that we cannot drive till the monastery and there is sufficient amount of trekking to reach. Two foreign nationals returned from their trek from the monastery at the same time. They had all the trek gear and were looking really tired. We on the other side had literally no preparations for the trek. So we decided against it and continued our way towards Padum.


At Purne, the Kurgiak river joined the Tsarap river and the confluence is a beautiful sight to see. The rest house owner also started with us in his Gypsy towards Padum. Almost everyone from the entire Zanskar valley were headed towards Padum that day since the Dalai Lama was coming the next day.


Kurgiak and Tsarap confluence


Gypsy near


Gypsy Far


Purney Bridge

We took the Purne, Cha, Muney and Padum route. At one point, after Cha the road was so steep that even in the first gear, the car couldn’t climb up. The angle took us by surprise but with use of clutch, we came out. This was just the start. After that there was nothing dramatic. With lots of photo stops we slowly moved towards Padum.


A metal bridge


Scary


Nature's force


Hot sun = More water


Dusty memory

We reached Padum at around 1630hrs. The whole town wore a festive look for the Dalai Lama’s visit the next day. Since we had reached early, we decided to get the car washed and fill up diesel.



Sumo mountains


Golden Gompa


The number plate will be visible soon

After the car wash, when we reached the fuel station, there was a huge queue at the fuel station. We had driven only 180kms in the day and the next day we had only around 300 kms to Leh. We still had 3/4th of the tank and an additional 10ltrs in our jerrycan. So we decided we need not fill and drove to the hotel that we had booked.

We checked in and all except me slept off as they were tired. I wasn’t sleepy so spent some time taking pictures around the hotel and called family members with the Jio connection. They were on track with all the packing and ready to depart early the next morning to the airport.

Meanwhile I messaged Madhu and he sent back some key co-ordinates and information regarding our route for the next day. By 1930hrs all three woke up and we had dinner.

We were planning to leave early again the next day and asked the hotel owner for packed breakfast. He told he’ll give an egg,some apples, paratha and bread. We settled the bill and were about to go to our rooms when another guest there called us in Kannada and introduced himself. He had come from Bengaluru to Mumbai in a flight and from there in a Gurkha with this friend. Seeing our KA vehicle he spoke to us, understood our plans. The Hotel owner told that if we are taking lingshed route then we have to “dabake jaana padega” in his exact words. We noted that and went and slept by 2130hrs.

Day Stats
Total Distance: 190km
Drive start: 06:20
Drive end: 16:20
Duration: 10:00
Average Speed: 19.0kmph
States crossed: HP, LA

[hemanth.anand]

Day 7 | Thursday, 11th August 2022 | Padum to Leh



It was a wonderful Golden Orange Sunrise and a beautiful start to the day...


Golden


Orange

Our families in Bengaluru had started in 3 different cabs from different locations by 0230hrs-0300hrs and all of them were together at the airport at around 0400hrs. Their flight was at 0600hrs. Vishwa hadn’t slept well because he was continuously in touch with his family till they reached airport. We all woke up at 0500hrs and were ready to leave by 0530hrs. The owner also came out and gave us our packed food and wished us a nice journey.


Our Flight


Their flight


Selfie with the Owner of the Omasila Hotel - Lobzang Tsering

Lobzang told us that there will be a maggi point at Murgumla but other than that not many food points till we reach the Kargil-Leh highway. We informed our families that we will not be having any sort of connectivity till evening and we will see them at the hotel in Leh. They had boarded by then.
By 6AM just before sunrise, we were on the road with Avinash at the wheel.

The roads were freshly laid around Padum and we encountered lot of opposite traffic most of which was coming towards Padum for the Dalai Lama. For the first few kms we had the Tsarap river and after that, it merged with the Stod river to form the Zanskar river and all we had to do was follow the Zanskar. The sight of dark black freshly laid road with beautiful peaks around and the golden sunrays was just a beauty.


Sunrise at the birth place of Zanskar River


Fortunate to have driven from K to K


The peaks


Fresh tar


Black and yellow

We stopped in many places for pictures and just to soak it all up.


Ab aaya Airavatha Pahaad ke Neeche


Dramatic


Couldn't help clicking another one


Absolutely stunning location


Black Scorpion


A beautiful bridge

By 0715hrs we reached the first la of the day-Zangla. We were supposed to make an entry but the check post was empty and the road was open, so we proceeded without any entry. The tar road also ended here.


The turning point

From here it was just us on the dusty path, roaring Zanskar on the left and tall mountains on both sides. The echo of the river was so loud that the Diesel engine was not heard at all. The rock cut mountain road in some places were amazing. The LA registered Scorpio that we had seen earlier was in front of us now and we were using him as a reference and kept following him.


THE ZANSKAR VALLEY


Following the localite


Through the rocks


Cut rocks

At one point, we saw a KUV100 broken down and it had left just a tight space for a car to pass through. The Scorpio driver carefully passed it. Safari being longer and wider than the scorpio was a bigger challenge for us. The KUV people were guiding us and we were slowly steering past the KUV. Just as we came beside the car, one of them told “Nahi aana tha aapko, bahut kharab rasta hai”. It was like a horror movie dialogue where the people are given a warning by the haunted bungalow security guard and they still go ahead. We still did go ahead

https://youtu.be/nj2e7a9g6OM

By around 0815hrs, we crossed the Shamsher Singh metal bridge and the Zanskar was now on our right. From here on in many places the river was flowing on the road and we had to cross the river. Since it was early morning the level was still manageable. Later in the day with rivers overflowing, it would become tougher as it would be flooded.


A Little later in the day and this would be flooded too

After 75kms, we come to a point where we have to turn left and leave the Zanskar. Madhu had given us this precise GPS point and also a photo. This really helped as there is just a hand written board asking to take left and nothing else here. If you see today, Google gives direction but at that time, there was no data on Google and we had to rely on old school navigation methods.

After we turn left here, the road completely changed complexion. From rocky roads, suddenly it became dusty fine sand roads.


Dusty soft sand roads


Complexion changes

Some 5 kms later, we were at the base of a mountain and a set of steep hair pin bends were in front of us. The first bend the safari couldn’t climb up even in first gear. So we came back and revved hard and negotiated the bend. Avinash got the trick here, he just couldn’t allow the rpm to get down. From the second bend onwards, midway through the curve he had to press the clutch to increase the rpm and negotiate. Some bends later the bends got sharper and sharper and the long Safari just couldn’t manage it with one turn. Midway, he had to quickly come back, revv high again then move ahead. It had to be quick work and Avinash did it wonderfully well. The next 8 kms or so were really adrenaline-pumping action time. The vehicle hardly went into 2nd gear. Revv, climb, clutch, brake, reverse, revv... one amazing experience. The way Avinash cares for his car, he would never do this, but in order to take the Safari which was fully loaded and has a huge turning radius, this was the only way. In a span of 5kms, we gain an elevation of 800mtrs.

https://youtu.be/LsBQqS0L5hY

Finally at 0900hrs, we reached the Murgumla peak. Murgumla stands at 4200mts above MSL. The place where we left Zanskar is at 3400mtrs above MSL.
The driver, the vehicle and all of us needed a break and we stopped for some maggi. The other Scorpio driver also had stopped for a smoke and he told that it was a good thing that we started early. He also told us that from here on the drive was relatively easy with long winding curves.


Murgumla


Airavatha at 4200mtrs above MSL


Maggi break!

Day 7 to be continued...

[hemanth.anand]

...Day 7 continued

From the top we could see the lingshed monastery below. The sound of prayers was soothing and we could see lot of vehicles. We were told that The Dalai Lama is there and hadn’t yet left to Padum. We spent 20-30 minutes and resumed our journey.

From here I took the driver seat. As informed the road was wide long winding and easier. We saw lot of cars going towards Lingshed. The cars that we saw were mostly small cars suggesting that the road ahead wasn’t bad. But the landscape was dramatic. Stunning, Amazing, Mesmerising use any adjective you want, it still is lesser.


The huge SUV is a speck of dust


Ego crushing Magnitude


Trying to fly!


No matter what, I'll climb up


The Beauty of a Beast

With lot of photo stops, we made our way to the next peak Singela. The drive from Murgum La to Singela is at 5000mtrs – a further 800mtrs climb but in 25kms. We took an hour and half to cover this distance with relatively flat wide and easy roads.


Views that challenge your Vocabulary


ZZZ


Force Traveler


Hairpins


What formations!


Hardened Lava!


The winding road up to Singe la


Another La captured

This was the highest pass of the day for us and from here on it was a descent. From Singela, Avinash took the car again to avoid getting motion sickness. The roads continued to be wide and curvy and mostly flat. Avinash drove for an hour...


The snaking road down Singe la

At noon, we stopped at Photoksar beside a river for lunch. There was no Maggi point so we ate the packed breakfast that we had got from Padum and some energy bars and dry fruits that we had with us. With the glacier water flowing down and the Singela top visible in the background, it was a picturesque location.


Lunch break


Breather break


Singela peak from Photoskar


Photogenic Photoskar

After around 20 minutes, we resumed. Our next stop was Sirsirla at around 4800mtrs above MSL. Between Singela and Sirsirla, we found dramatic rocky metamorphic formations, domesticated Yaks, wild Marmots and some cyclists coming up from the opposite directions. We were in awe of to those cyclists!


Protective parent, curious child


The Marmot


Can you spot the herd of sheep?


Sexy Gypsy


The Meandering way up to Sirsirla

Again with many photo stops, we slowly moved towards Sirsirla at 1300hrs. The 35kms drive took 2hours with a 20min lunch break.


A wish up on the mountain


Sirsirla

From Sirsirla, Vishwa wanted to drive and he came onto the driver seat. From here the descent started getting evident and we started to see more and more civilization. The colours of the mountains in this stretch varied from red, browns, blacks to greens to white. I had never before seen so many colours in such a short area. Vishwa covered the next 40kms in an hour and we reached Wanla at around 1400hrs. We had descended down to 3400mts level which was visible in the tall mountains on both sides and water snaking through in the middle.


So many colours


Amongst the tall giants


Sky above, river beside, White elephant in between

From here I took the vehicle and pretty soon we got to see tarmac! And in some time, we even got our mobile network back. The phone of our families were not reachable which meant that their flight had not landed yet. Although their scheduled landing was at 1300hrs, we didn’t worry much as there was a message that their flight from Delhi to Leh was delayed by an hour. By 1530hrs, they called us and informed us that they were out of the airport. They had found the taxi arranged by the travel agent and were headed towards the hotel.

We joined the Srinagar-Leh highway at around 1445hrs and by around 1500hrs, we were beside the Indus. We stopped for some tea, coffee and refreshments.


100kms to famiLeh!

After a 20mins break, I continued to drive. We had 100kms more to Leh. After 2 days of mountain paths, the wide 2 lane road felt like a runway. We were used to 10-15kmh speeds and we are now doing 50kmh speeds!
By around 1700hrs, we reached the Sangam point where Zanskar merges with the Indus. We were at the starting point of Zanskar in the morning at around 0600hrs and followed it for a little over two hours. 8 hours later we were here at the end of Zanskar river! Zanskar, as some people say, is formed by two words Zan and Skar meaning Copper and Valley. I can completely relate to this as what we saw was a Golden delight. With lot of good memories, we wished to come back to Zanskar in the future.

Just outside the city of Leh, we filled diesel and at 1800hrs we reached our hotel where all our families had already settled down. The second phase of our trip was about to start. Out of the 6 kids and 6 adults who came in the flight 2 kids were vomiting and 2 adults had severe headache. Less sleep and Altitude were showing its effects. We had absolutely no plans for the remainder of the day but to let everyone rest and acclimatize.

My 4 friends who were coming in the Ertiga had reached Leh the previous night. They were doing some Leh city sightseeing and getting acclimatized too. They came to our stay and we exchanged experiences.

Two Innovas were part of the package for all our family members along with the Safari. The taxi drivers of those two Innovas called me and informed about the plan for the next day. My friends had already covered some of those places. So we agreed that we will meet each other at Shanti Stupa the next evening.

The taxi drivers had asked us to have breakfast and get ready to depart by 0900hrs. The four of us who were used to the 0600hrs schedule, it was like “this is too late” kind of feeling. But with such a big group and with kids, we were just going easy.

With that decided, they left to their hotel and we had dinner and slept at around 2200hrs.

Day stats
Total Distance: 288kms
Drive start: 6:00
Drive end: 18:00
Duration: 12:00
Average Speed: 24.0kmph
States crossed: LA
Fuel filled at: Leh at IOC at ₹ 88.85

[hemanth.anand]

Day 8 | Friday, 12th August 2022 | Leh Sightseeing



The drivers Nurbu and Dorjee came at around 0845hrs and all of us were ready but finishing breakfast. By the time everyone were inside the cars, it was 0930hrs. The first stop was the Hall of fame. The museum/memorial pays homage to the many bravehearts who laid down their lives in the many wars with our neighbours! Indoors, there are various weapons, awards, gadgets, uniforms exhibited in 2 floors. Outside the building, there is a place called Vijay sthal which has planks with all the names of the martyrs. Goosebumps, sense of pride, respect to the soldiers are obvious emotions that you’ll experience. We spent a good 1 hour and a bit more here before heading to the cars.


The ticket


106MM RCL


75/24 Pack Howitzer


OP Snow leopard map


In memory


No sure what was going through her head


Men who fought till their last breath


So many!


Women power!

Next stop was the Sangam point – The confluence of Zanskar and Indus rivers. The drivers had to get the permits for all 3 of our vehicles for the places that we would be visiting over the next 5 days. The taxi drivers stopped at a store where they could get these permits online. Since this was all part of the package we had booked with our travel agent, we did not interfere. Else, I would’ve taken it online; It is a simple procedure. Due to some network issue, the permit took quite some time.

After that we reached Sangam point at noon. Apart from Avinash, Rajesh’s wife Sowmya and I were not really keen on rafting. Vishwa decided to go with the kids on a short trip (it was more boating than rafting) of 3km. All other adults went on the longer rafting route of 6kms. Sangam point is actually the end point for these rafts. We had to go to the starting point in cars. Since we had two taxis, all the 6 Kids and Vishwa went in one of the cars. The remaining 6 adults went in another taxi. The kids returned back in rafts by 1330hrs. My daughter came and told me that “it was booooring” and she wasn’t happy that she wasn’t allowed in the rapids

After their return we got them some Maggi and ice creams while we all waited for the other raft to return. Rajesh did not get a life jacket of his size and hence they did not allow him on the raft. So he came back in the taxi. the second raft returned back at around 1500hrs.

When everyone got back, we transferred the video of the Gopro from the Raft captain. In one of the rapids, Anil actually was thrown off the raft but he was pulled back by the marshal. So, they definitely had their money’s worth.


The confluence


He was just amazed at the sight of one river meeting another


The boating gang


The rafting gang

https://youtu.be/xujNivm-O4s

Kids returned back


All safely back

Everyone were hungry so we wanted to go for lunch. The drivers told that on the way back, we had two more stops… the magnetic hill and the Gurudwara Patthar sahib. So whatever snacks we had with us, we ate among those so that we can control our hunger. We decided to skip Magnetic hill because A, it was crowded and B, I never felt that illusion that others speak of, and C, Compared to the last time when I was here, this place has become like a commercialized carnival!

We reached the Gurudwara Patthar Sahib at 1530hrs and spent time till 1600hrs. Avinash who just cannot tolerate hunger, managed with some energy bars.


Roads.


Bow down.

We then stopped at a restaurant for a late lunch. Vishwa’s younger son slowly developed fever and started getting cranky. So, he was given some medicines and he stayed with his mother in the car. The service at the restaurant was too slow and hence it took us more than an hour to finish it.

It was 1715hrs by the time we were back in the car. From here we headed straight to Shanti Stupa. By 1730hrs we reached the Shanti Stupa. We leisurely went around the place, took lot of family pictures. The crowd was too much for my liking. The “Shanti” part of this amazing place had reduced by a great margin (of course my comparison point was my visit a decade ago). However it is still a nice place to spend time. We spent more than an hour and then started our return to the parking lot.


The Shanti Stupa


Soothing


Everyone will be calm...such is the effect of the stupa!

The weather was getting windy and cloudy and rain was round the corner. In fact we could see the rain behind the Leh Palace.


Shey Palace across the town


Clouds building up


Sun setting

With sunset and the rain it had all the ingredients for a Rainbow. Just as we started getting down the stupa, we indeed got a Rainbow. It was not an ordinary one but it was a flare of colours. The mountains were looking like a flowerpot cracker. It was probably the best rainbow I’ve seen even in my life. We were all mesmerized by this one and hence we spent more time there. By 1840hrs after the rainbow faded away, we went toward the car.


The Rainbow is here


Riot of colours


A close up


She stood there dumbstruck!


Started to fade away

My Ertiga Friends Anoop, hi brother Ashvin and Harsha entered the Shanti Stupa then. We told them to come to our home stay after they finish seeing this and we left. By 1900hrs, we reached our stay. The drivers told that they’ll come at the same time tomorrow and requested us to keep all luggage ready because unlike that day we will return to Leh hotel only after 4 days.

After 30 mins, when we were relaxing and having a cup of coffee/tea, my friends came back. They told us they’re planning to go to the light and sound show at the Leh Hall of fame and asked us if we would be interested to join.

Although we did not have any plans, 6 of us were interested. The show was supposed to start at 2000hrs. Quickly we took out our safari and we went along with them. The Google maps in both cars were showing different routes and as luck would have it, we chose the route with would eventually take more time. The show was scheduled at 2000hrs and we reached 10 mins late. Luckily we were still allowed in.

The show is for 45minutes and it showed us details about the various wars and brave stories of our soldiers. Sound light and laser together is used to good effect and overall a nice show that give lot of information about the wars we’ve fought.


The Light and Sound show

At 2045hrs, we started back to our stay and reached at 2115hrs. It was aligned with the Ertiga group that we will travel together for the next 4 days as the itinerary was identical. When we returned back, Avinash’s wife told us that my daughter had not eaten much and she slept off. It was quite normal for her to do this when she is tired. So we didn’t worry much. Vishwa’s son still had fever but he ate and had slept. We all had dinner afterwards and slept by 2200hrs

Day stats
Total Distance: 98kms
Drive start: 09:30
Drive end: 19:00
Duration: 09:30
Average Speed: 10.9kmph
States crossed: LA

[hemanth.anand]

Day 9 | Saturday, 13th August 2022 | Leh to Hunder



We all got up by around 0700hrs and were ready for breakfast at 0800hrs. We all ate parathas to our heart’s content and were ready with all the luggage.


Good morning guys!


Hometel away from home

The drivers Nurbu and Dorjee came on time and started to load up all the luggage on the roof racks. Anoop, Ashvin and Harsha also arrived in the Ertiga at 0900hrs. So As per plan, 2 innovas, one Ertiga and one Safari started. Avinash, Rajesh and their families - all 6 were in the Safari. Anil and me with our families all 6 of us plus the driver Nurbu were in the grey Innova; Vishwa and his family of 4 were in the white Innova. One group photo before we left and then we were off


Sweet 16

Our first stop – Khardungla. All 4 cars were in a convoy for most parts and even with lot of traffic we took 1 hour to reach the Khardungla peak which was 35kms from our stay. The “Har ghar Tiranga” call by the PM all taxis were mandated by their unions to have the flag on their vehicles and hence all the taxis had the flag.


Misty morning


Approaching the peak

While we were approaching the peak, my daughter started feeling uneasy and wanted to sit on my lap. I held her tightly and we sat together. She wasn’t able to tell exactly what was happening but she was definitely not feeling well.

When we reached the Khardungla top at 1030hrs, My daughter didn’t want to get down and she really got dull. I stayed with her while all others got down. Ashvin got my daughter a hot cup of Kahwa to hold in her hands so that she feels better.

Since it was a long weekend, The Khardungla was overflowing with people similar to a Rameshwaram café in Bengaluru. Ola had organized a ride with 100s of Ola S1 scooters, 100s of taxis. It was a stark contrast to my previous visit here! Of course, were also one among the crowd but I would be more than happy to avoid such crowded places. I consider myself lucky that I have visited here a decade ago when it was still empty! My wife and others went out and there was a long queue to get a picture in front of the Khardungla Board...but that too was impossible without any photo bombers. Looking at the crowd, my wife didn’t take a picture and came back.


Heavily cropped image...Just for the records, we were here!

Within 15 mins we started to move and considering my daughter’s state, it was really important that we descend quickly. Within the next 15 mins after around 2 to 3 kms, my daughter started feeling better and soon she was back to her active and chirpy self. It was a big relief for all of us.

We moved ahead. We stopped at Khalsar as people wanted a bio break! The drivers stopped at a restaurant near Khalsar. When we stopped, it started to rain. everyone craved for some hot Maggi. So we ordered maggi for all. This break consumed 30 mins.


Veg Maggi!

We resumed our drive at 1230hrs. Sitting in the Innova, I clicked so many pictures of Safari which wouldn't have been possible if we were only in one vehicle.


Cloudy peaks


Another turn, another pic


RE Convoy

our next stop was at the Go Karting track at the Nubra valley. This is supposed to be the highest Go- Karting track in the world. Some of us took the double seater karts with our kids while other kids and fathers drove alone. The karts were just about average but still There was a big crowd and we had to wait for quite some time to complete all our rides and by the time we finished it was 1500hrs. That’s two hours and a half!


Ready to Race!

After coming out, we all were really hungry. On the opposite side of the track, we went into a restaurant for Lunch. The lunch service was slow and the break cost another hour. Finally we were back in the car at 1600hrs.
We moved on to our next stop which was the Diskit Monastery. The drive took another 30 minutes.


Reflections

When we reached the Monastery, the one thing that hit me again was the sheer crowd!!! Of course my comparison was from 2012; I still remember there were probably 2 or 3 cars when I visited this monastery. Now it was like multiplied by 100 times!

Anyway, we walked to the Statue and spent some time there. The blue sky and the golden buddha statue is a wonderful combination. And then that view of the Nubra valley, the Nubra river meeting the Shyok river is just a Beautiful sight.


Diskit Monastery


Gazebo to view the confluence of Nubra and Shyok


The calm expression


Prayer Wheels


The view


Nice view, nice company


Peace ☮


She Liked it


The Monk who was looking for mobile connectivity

My daughter built a tall wish tower with the stones and her wish was to get a puppy when we reach home! we headed back to the cars. By the time we started, it was 1745hrs.


Wish tower

The next stop as per the itinerary was the sand dunes of Hunder which is 15 mins away from the diskit monastery.


Golden sunset

Vishwa's son's fever only increased. so Their driver Dorjee took them to a local hospital for consulting a doctor while all others went towards the Hunder Sand dunes location. fortunately there was nothing to worry, but Vishwa was more astonished at the fees that the doctor charged...₹10 for treating and tablets!

We reached the Sand dunes location and again the same crowd! By the time we got down from the parking lot and walked towards the famous double hump camels, the ticket counter was closed. This was the last stop for the day. So we were just strolling around in the cold desert sand. Suddenly the weather got windy and there was a small sand strom. So we quickly went back to our cars.


Picking up some storm

Our stay in Nubra was part of the package tour, while my friends in Ertiga had booked it via Oyo. So we decided to meet at a particular location the next morning and we drove towards our tents and they drove to their hotel. After 15 minutes, we reached our tents and unloaded our luggage and were just relaxing.


Our stay for two days


Cool and windy

I then received a call from my friends…Their hotel was inexistent!!! They were unable to find the hotel they had booked after searching a lot! Calling Oyo customer care was not really helpful. So they raised for a refund and asked us if there were tents available in our stay. Luckily for them, there was one tent available. They reached our stay and took that one available tent. We all settled down and relaxed a bit.


17:44


17:54

After dinner, we all sat down and played Rummy for quite some time and probably by 11PM, we all slept.


Decently good game

Before that we had aligned with the drivers of the Innova that the start time would be after breakfast at 0830hrs.

Day stats
Total Distance: 126kms
Drive start: 09:30
Drive end: 18:00
Duration: 08:30
Average Speed: 15.8kmph
States crossed: LA

[hemanth.anand]

Day 10 | Sunday, 14th August 2022 | Hunder-Thang-Hunder



All of us were ready by 0800 to 0815. Me and my daughter had a camo t-shirt and when we came out of our tent we saw Avinash also was wearing a camo shirt! Then Rajesh came out of his tent and guess what...he was also in a camo Shirt! We were just smiling at the coincidence. Then Vishwa came out in a normal t-shirt. He saw us all and decided to match it up. he went back and changed to a camo t-shirt. Anil saw us do it but unfortunately he didn’t have one. He was saying, “If I had one I would also have worn it”. By then Harsha was there and he told “I’ve one and if you don’t mind, I can give mine to you. Anil accepted and he wore Harsha's t-shirt for a picture.


Camouflage

After the picture, we all had breakfast and were ready to leave. It was pretty sunny already. Our itinerary for the day was simple. It was a return trip to a village called Thang which is the last village of India and is right on the LOC.
Our first stop for the day was the Shyok war memorial which is around 60 kms. With some of photo stops, we were moving slowly and this 60kms took 2 hours. Enroute, we passed Thoise Airstrip too.


Snap, crackle pop!


When you're happy and you know it...


All cars look good in this environment


Thoise Airstrip

Trivia...THOISE is not a real name but an acronym: Transit Halt Of Indian Soldiers Enroute (to Siachen).

The Shyok war memorial is built in memory of 20 Indian soldiers who were martyred in a fight against the Chinese army’s incursion. Since it was just a day before Independence day, there was a army event at the memorial. So we were not allowed to go near the actual memorial. So we just had some refreshments at the attached army canteen and brought some souvenirs in the small store they had.


The Magnificient


Somewhere in the Siachen area


Best out of waste

40 minutes later we were back on the road following the shyok. The entire day we would be driving along the Shyok river. The Shyok river was brown, raging at some places and calm at many places. Some places it was scary but some places we couldn’t tell if it was a river just a river bed.


Through the rocks


Roaring and Raging


Calm and Brown

By noon, we crossed the village of Turtuk and reached a place called Tyakshi. Here there is a military check-post where everyone has to stand in a queue, make an entry with their Aadhar ID card. This took almost 20 minutes. The sun was beating down and we all stood in the queue with umbrellas and caps and took around 20-30 mins to make our entry and resume our journey forward. The heat was so high that we were relieved when we actually went back into the AC of the car

Half past noon and we were approaching Thang village when we saw a tall rocky mountain which our driver pointed and told “That’s the LOC”. He also showed a small bunker on top of the ledge and told that it’s the Pakistan Bunker.


You're in the view of the Enemy

In some minutes we reached the last point and got down the car. There is the LOC fence and we can see the POK side of the fence too from here. After some minutes of taking pictures and watching through our binoculars, we headed to a restaurant located there.


The LOC


The division stories


Peeking at the neighbours

While everyone ordered parathas and other dishes, I was interested to order local dishes. I ordered sea buck thorn juice and Kisir. Seabuck thorn is a tiny tangy berry grown on thorny bushes almost everywhere in Ladakh. Kisir was a Dosae+Pancake like dish and was served with hot green chutney+curd accompaniment. Everyone else ordered seabuck thorn juice too.


Kisir and Seabuck thorn juice

By 1400hrs, we finished and started our return journey towards Hunder. After 30 minutes drive, we crossed Tyakshi and stopped by near a glacier river. The water was beautiful and cold too. With the sun beating down on us, the cold water was a wonderful relief. The kids enjoyed playing in the water and we spent a good 30mins in this waterfall. Almost everyone got a good shade of tan too even with the sunscreen applied.


@ Turtuk Heading back


Fresh Melt

We traced back the same path and it was a two and a half hour drive back to Hunder. The geology was amazing to see. Sitting in the Innova, all I did from here was click pictures of Safari in various backdrops. Sharing some here.


Chocolate mountains


Airavatha on the mountain plain


Through the rocks


Along the shyoks


Across the Shyoks


Following the curves


Brown and Beige


Feeling at home!

Since we were early, we went straight to the camel ride location which we had missed the previous day. Everyone except Avinash, Rajesh and I took a ticket and went on the camel ride.


Mirror!


Ab aaya Oonth Pahad ke neeche


Ab aaya Oonth Pahad ke neeche 2.0

By the time they came back, it was almost 1800hrs. The weather slowly got windy like the previous day and there was a small sandstorm. We went to a restaurant for tea and snack. The sand storm really picked up and for the next 30 mins we were stuck! Going to the car was nearly impossible. After some time, the wind reduced a bit and we decided to cross the stream of water and go to the car. Everyone ran to the car but me and my wife were behind. After we went out, the wind picked up again and we were taking shelter behind a parked Force traveler. We called out Innova driver Nurbu and he came to where we were standing and we quickly got in the car. We literally had sand in our hair, shoes, ears in that short span of time!

By 1930hrs, we reached our tent stay and took settled down for the day. Later some of us played Rummy once again while kids were playing outdoors. At around 2030hrs we had dinner in the dining hall. Nurbu and Dorjee told us that we can start at 0800hrs the next day after breakfast!

Day stats
Total Distance: 204kms
Drive start: 08:45
Drive end: 19:30
Duration: 10:45
Average Speed: 20.4kmpl
States crossed: LA