[shashrash]

Hello to all fellow T-BHPians,

Emotions and Desire Behind this Trip Venture
This post here is quite close to my heart for many reasons. It's been something I had been longing to do for many many years. And by all the luck and god's grace, I am super satisfied that I could make it.

It had always been tough for me to leave my furr babies at home everytime we travel out. If you are a per parent, you will find this dilemma more often then others. And I will tell myself this a lot many times. Why it's only you who seek an escape from monotonous routine, it's for them too, right ? Why not plan a vacation for them too ?

The Plan
And this thought hit me hard this time around while I was contemplating ideas to plan for 2 weeks of approved vacations I had from work. I had travelled Sikkim during Nov-Dec 22 so wanted to sustain my liking towards the mountains and pick up something similarly adventurous, and that I had never been before to. And no other destination comes to mind than the Himalayas which are one of the most sought after destinations on the planet.

I also considered the NE again but it wasn't the best time to head that way so up north it was decided. As the destination was shortlisted, I started to prepare myself to make this trip with my beloved pet, an Indie girl - Kishmish, who would be my companion on this escapade. It was like of a Dad n kids outing. With this, the idea of hitting the road, with my girl took shape.

The window to travel was June last - July 1st week. My biggest challenge while planning this trip was finding pet friendly accomodations at each and every stop over I had to make.
Some intense digging and some very friendly Airbnbs helped out a lot here.

So here was the itinerary -
Itinerary
June 24 Banglore - Nagpur
June 25th Nagpur to Jaipur
June 26th - Rest day at Home in Jaipur
June 27th - Jaipur to Manali via Kotputli/ Narnaul/ Pehowa/ Ambala/ Rupnagar/ Bharatgarh/ Kiratpur Sahib/ Patta/ SunderNagar/ Nee Chowk/ Mandi/ Pandoh/ Hanogi/ Aut/ Kullu/ Naggar
June 28th - Manali to Sarchu via Rohtang/ Koksar/ Sissu/ Tandi/ Keylong/ Jispa/ Zing Zing Bar/ Baralacha La/ Killingsarai/ Campsite at Sarchu
June 29th - Sarchu to Leh via Gata Loops/ Pang/ Debring/ Taglang La/ Rumtse/*Upshi/*Karu/ Thiksey/*Leh
July 1st - Leh to Nubra via Khardung La/ North Pullu/ Shayok/ Khalsar/ Tirith/ Sumur (Nubra)
July 3rd - Nubra to Pangong. Road via Khalsar/ Agham is closed due to repairs so took old road to Rongdu following Tsati/ Agham/ Shayok/ Durbuk/ Tangtse/ Spangmik
July 4th - Pangong to Thiksey via Tangtse/ Durbuk/ Tsoltak/ Karu/ Thiksey
July 5th - Thiksey to Vashisht via Karu/ Upshi/ Rumtse/ Debring/ Pang/ Gata Loops/ Sarchu/ Killingsarai/ Baralacha La/ Jispa/ Keylong/ Tandi/ Sissu/*Atal Tunnel/*Solang/ Vashisht
July 6th - Vashisht to Jaipur via Kullu/ Mandi/ SunderNagar/ RupNagar/ Ambala/ Pehowa/ Narnaul/ Kotputli/ Jaipur

The route shared is the best available then as a result of multiple road blocks due to repairs or bad road conditions with very slow moving traffic.

The Good Part
However, skipping to the best part was that we had NO health issues for both of us and No Mechanical failures for the car throughout the journey . As we had to pass through some of the most treacherous terrain, high altitude, and acute climate, thankfully didn't require any extreme measures though we went prepared.

All Stays Arranged
All stays were either pet friendly Airbnbs, camp sites, or individual homestays who accept pets as guests. I looked on the gmaps and kept reaching out to all homestays shown in the map, on my route to destination till I found the most suitable one. This is tedious but it worked.
Superb hospitality all around, they really love to make your stay like a home and accomodate if you have any special requests as I had in my case due to travelling with a Pet.

This place is a Wonderland. A Wish Getting Fulfilled
This land is simply amazing. I had never been able to make this trip while my friends had done it long long ago. Neither could I join for rides nor for a drive plan. So this was indeed a very very special trip for me. And doing this with my girl, is immensely satisfying.

The air, the snow, the streams and the views we both enjoyed were unparalleled. No better time than to sit next to a cold stream, dip your feet and tell yourself, the world is indeed beautiful.

I know this is something a lot many of you had experienced so you can easily derive the charm of it.

Best Companion, The Best Company, My Girl Kishmish
Travelling with a Dog is always challenging. Especially when your dogs are not used to if long distance travel, get motion sick, or are not friendly with other beings. We had been traveling with our 3 dogs since the time they were adopted at young age of 40-60 days. They all have over time developed the endurance, patience and learnt to deal with such travels.

Kishmish did amazingly well during this trip to my surprize and being an Indie, she proved that they actually belong to this land, all weather and all terrain. Many other travellers and my homestays, whom I met on my journey were excited so see a guy and a dog on the road and making a memorable road trip together. I carried Pedigree wet food saches in case we don't get anything cooked. Thankfully she's fond of drinking lot of water so the ask to have as much as water intake as possible to compensate low O2 levels was automatically addressed.

The Machine that never ceases to impress
Compass does pull out a trick everytime I take her out for such adventures. Its a solid, fun and comfortable drivers car. I know there are many sad ownership stories as well, and I feel for the owners, however in my case, as I also did a Sikkim round trip from Banglore in Dec 22, she took this one head on with ease. No fuss, no hiccups, pure driving fun and pleasure. And that too being a 4x2 Desiel drive train. Full marks and a completely satisfied owner here.

Happy Feeling At the End
I think I will leave it here and close it by sharing just a few of the entire stack of pictures/videos taken. Hope you all would love reading our journey experience, and be part of my trip. And don't forget to shower some love for the amazing companion I had on this trip, Kishmish

Cheerz and Be Safe !

Relive the Moments

Sleeping Beauty




Random selfie on way to Leh from Sarchu




Camp site Sarchu. Kishmish out on the stroll








Enjoying Sunset at Pangong. What an evening




Sand Dunes at Hunder. Can drive around a bit and have fun








Little after Rohtang Pass


Paying Homage at Siachen Memorial. Pets are allowed unlike Kargil War Memorial


Happy wet and cold feet at Pangong


Sumur Dunes Bench


Camp site Sarchu. Basking in Sun we are


Kargil War Memorial. No entry with pets so had to salute n return from outside. But the drive from Leh to and back from memorial is very satisfying.




Sumur Dunes. Met a Singaporean traveller who wanted to take a picture of both of us. Did the favor of taking a few Polaroid and share.


Khardung La post


The most amazing Moon you will ever see from earth. Moon over Pangong Lake under pitch dark sky. Whoaa !!








And then the snowfall happened. This was during my return leg on 6th July. A few days after that is when weather conditions deteriorated drastically across Himachal.


Baralacha La Pass under snowfall


A group of adventure seeking Aussies, British and French who ran on these custom 3wheeler autos from Leh to Jaiselmer. Camel Toe Express as they called themselves. Was Great to catch up with them

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage this weekend

[raptor_diwan]

Haha, this is incredibly heartwarming! Your travelogue is fantastic, and the pictures alongside your companion are truly breathtaking.

Did you make any preparations for your companion's endurance prior to the trip? How did they fare in the high mountain pass? Was there any noticeable sickness, or did they remain active and engaged throughout the journey?

[shashrash]

Originally Posted by raptor_diwan

Haha, this is incredibly heartwarming! Your travelogue is fantastic, and the pictures alongside your companion are truly breathtaking.

Did you make any preparations for your companion's endurance prior to the trip? How did they fare in the high mountain pass? Was there any noticeable sickness, or did they remain active and engaged throughout the journey?

Thank You for the kind words.

No Preps specifically. I got her Vetted out for a 360 health checkup before.

Carried emergency meds for pain, injury, first aid kit with bandage, corn flour which acts as a home remedy to stop bleeding through minor cuts etc.
For higher altitudes, I made sure she has ample water time and again throughout the journey.
Carried a warm jacket for cold and only fed boiled home cooked meals. My Airbnbs and homestays helped me here a lot to keep a meal ready for her.

There was no sickness, other health symptoms throughout her journey, while we made bumpy slow rides, or pass through the high altitude passes. She was quite active overall. In the car, while on the move, loved to peep out through the window and happily roam around on empty roads, landscapes.
Had folded the rear seats with a layer of mattress, her favorite warm quilt so she had access to bed anytime she wanted and be comfortable.

Once we returned, she again had a check up and it was all normal.

Thank You

[Stryker]

This is so cool! May I ask if 777 Charlie (a hit Kannada movie) influenced you to plan and go on this trip?

[shankar.balan]

What a lovely thread. What lovely photos. And what a kind soul you are to give your dear pet such a nice holiday. God Bless. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and seeing all the photos. They are spectacular!

[HappyWheels]

A trip of this nature itself is a adventure but taking your 4 legged pal along is just amazing!

Originally Posted by Stryker

This is so cool! May I ask if 777 Charlie (a hit Kannada movie) influenced you to plan and go on this trip?

Have the same thought.

[SanjuInGgn]

What a lovely read this travelogue has been. Loved the crispness and ofcourse those wonderful pictures. Been planning something very similar for a long time now. However, scared to undertake it, specially as I drive a sedan and ofcourse, due to all those stories about extremely narrow road stretches on the way to Ladakh.

[karan561]

Thanks for sharing this unique, motivating & heartening travelogue with all of us

Ideal style of thread where the pictures do most of the talking.

All the best for the next adventure

[sheelRP]

Inspirational! Such an amazing travelogue and with a beautiful companion needs a salute! Breathtaking pics of Pangong made me remember my childhood days when I was in Leh with my parents in 80s and travelled to these places in Jonga. Again congratulations on such a Trip with your faithful companion. Safe motoring!

[Shan_Kmu]

Pawfect trip for the goodest girl. Thanks for uplifting my day

Reason why I can't go trips like these

[sudhirjaipur]

Originally Posted by shashrash

Hello to all fellow T-BHPians,

Such a lovely travelogue with a true companion, a dream come true. Thanks for sharing.

[Fiatfan]

That's a dream come true trip for anyone, superbly and crisply written with equal appreciation for your kishmish and of course the love for your Jeep with passionate words.

I am also waiting to drive from Bangalore to Himalayas from a very long time, hope to do it sometime soon.

It was nice to read your travelogue with fantastic photos

Wish you many more joyful and adventurous trips with your pet and Jeep.

[cka]

This is one hell of a lucky companion to travel with. You are amazing pet parent. More trip and power to the duo.

[krankstter]

This is extraordinarily wholesome and looks like every frame could have been picked from a movie. Love it!!!!!