[lordofgondor]

Kandisa, bro I must say your group experienced the Manali-Leh stretch in a whole new & certainly a lot more adventurous way. Appreciate the group's spirit that kept you all going in those pretty tough conditions.

My first reaction at looking the pic of More was "Yipes, snow in More!" but then I realized it's just water. Must have been quite a task for the Cedia & WagonR crossing More in those conditions.

Around Pang, you must have come across a big army camp with plenty of fencing & sheds. I believe that is the transit det and our great army folks are always ready to facilitate civilians if possible.

[wanderernomad]

Did you ahve that maggi in a tent adjacent to the puncture repair shop on the left side of the road? If yes the route to det lies on the right side of the road and straight up ahead.

[Kandisa]

Originally Posted by akaush

Uncooked maggi really took a toll on you.
With all the cold, rain and the ghats, I can imagine how difficult it was for you to get going in the Jeep. The Jeep did stand good all the while. Great going, keep the rest of the travelogue coming.

Thanks, yes it was a hell of a journey. Actually we should have carried on with the dry foods we had. Regarding the jeep, yes it did sail through everything. Can't imagine what could have been the situation if the jeep didn't stand good!

Originally Posted by deky

Excellent thread, love the way you are narrating your experiences. I have only seen rain soaked photographs till now. I know it is somewhat romantic, but I hope you did get some clear weather as you approached Leh.

Thanks a lot. Well i didn't find it romantic at all and no we were not fortunate of having a clear weather in the whole of manali-leh journey.

..First of all Happy Birthday HVK.

Oh, let me take this opportunity to wish you a very happy birthday HVK Sir .

..Now coming back to the topic, while on my trip Kailash Mansarovar, all the ladies were recommended to carry long ankle length skirts (ghagra type) with them. These were very useful for emergencies.

Great idea indeed. Btw, going through your travelogue, truely a journey of a lifetime.

Though we always had the toilet tent available in one of the vehicles but sometimes it does take a few minutes for the vehicles to collect and another couple of minutes for erecting the toilet tent.

Absolutely. In fact erecting it and then folding up later is a bit time consuming job if not done properly.

EDIT: Also anyone going to Leh/ Ladhak and getting stuck can always ask the help from Indian Army. I know for a fact that the officers/ jawans have been instructed to help out civilians in case of emergencies (medical or otherwise) and they will be more than happy to help you..

+100. They are the only saviours when getting help is next to impossible in these areas. I had a practical experience of this, to be revealed in the course of the travelogue.

Originally Posted by lordofgondor

Kandisa, bro I must say your group experienced the Manali-Leh stretch in a whole new & certainly a lot more adventurous way. Appreciate the group's spirit that kept you all going in those pretty tough conditions.

Thanks you. Actually when i was going through these, i was not in a state to judge how adventurous it was turning out to be; the only aim was to reach safely. But now sitting here in a comfortable atmosphere when i go through the videos and retrieve the experiences i do feel that the adventure quotient was really really high. The kind of experiences and feelings i had while driving up the Tanglang la in total darkness is unmatched till date!

..My first reaction at looking the pic of More was "Yipes, snow in More!" but then I realized it's just water. Must have been quite a task for the Cedia & WagonR crossing More in those conditions.

How i wish there were snow in stead of water! As i have mentioned Sanjay was chalking out the routes in the front and then used to give green signal for the vehicles behind to take a particular (the safest) route.

...Around Pang, you must have come across a big army camp with plenty of fencing & sheds. I believe that is the transit det and our great army folks are always ready to facilitate civilians if possible.

Originally Posted by wanderernomad

Did you ahve that maggi in a tent adjacent to the puncture repair shop on the left side of the road? If yes the route to det lies on the right side of the road and straight up ahead.

Yes we did stop at the left side of the road. Ok, i got you now on the direction of the det. I probably saw that while taking a break from puking out in the middle!

[wanderernomad]

OT: @Deky: Sorry bro but Army is Army everywhere, they just follow orders, nothing more nothing less. Lets not berate a fighting soldier over something he is doing maybe under orders.

[lordofgondor]

Originally Posted by deky

Also anyone going to Leh/ Ladhak and getting stuck can always ask the help from Indian Army. I know for a fact that the officers/ jawans have been instructed to help out civilians in case of emergencies (medical or otherwise) and they will be more than happy to help you.

+N to the power M to that! I am a living example of the courtesy & help our wonderful Army provides to us civilians. Interacted a lot with Army folks in Ladakh and have a huge debt towards them which I feel I can never repay. And of course, the VIP treatment we (wifey & myself) received for breaking their monotony. From the OC to the Jawans, everyone was happy having us around.

[Travelaholic]

Originally Posted by deky

Now coming back to the topic, while on my trip Kailash Mansarovar, all the ladies were recommended to carry long ankle length skirts (ghagra type) with them. These were very useful for emergencies.

Though we always had the toilet tent available in one of the vehicles but sometimes it does take a few minutes for the vehicles to collect and another couple of minutes for erecting the toilet tent.

Though toilet tent is very usefull while you have camped for the night, but IMO the long skirts are more practical while travelling. ( Rest I shall leave for the ladies to decide) Also make sure to buy a toilet seat with the toilet tent......

Though this is also a great idea, but somehow this can be messy!

Originally Posted by deky

EDIT: Also anyone going to Leh/ Ladhak and getting stuck can always ask the help from Indian Army. I know for a fact that the officers/ jawans have been instructed to help out civilians in case of emergencies (medical or otherwise) and they will be more than happy to help you.

Luckily ours is an Army much more considerate and helpfull towards civilians unlike the Army on the otherside who have just crushed the values of the people whom the occupy.

Absolutely right! As the travelogue will unfold, we (me and Kandisa) have experienced it! And we'll be grateful to them always for the help they provided.

[HappyWheels]

Kandisa,

Great travelogue. Following it from the very first day; just realized this requires a 5* rating. Did that!

[novice_alto]

it seems like a fairytale. Those pictures are all awesome. I dont know anything about photography, so may be light was required or whatever, but got to see ladakh pictures in rains. blue skies and clear and sunny day pictures of ladakh are there on this forum. You my friend have provided another dimension.

THANKS a lot. may be i missed it, but which month did you do this. are the roads not closed after rains? and considering the road conditions you jeep and the LC did it is understandable but the fact that the CEDIA also did it is really laudable.

thanks again. i love this thread.

[Kandisa]

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

Kandisa,
Great travelogue. Following it from the very first day; just realized this requires a 5* rating. Did that!

Thanks a lot. All i can say is i am honoured. Hope you will like the future parts of the travelogue as well.
And my sincere thanks to everyone who has voted the thread to their likings.

Originally Posted by novice_alto

it seems like a fairytale. Those pictures are all awesome. I dont know anything about photography, so may be light was required or whatever, but got to see ladakh pictures in rains. blue skies and clear and sunny day pictures of ladakh are there on this forum. You my friend have provided another dimension.

Thanks man. Yes better settings might have been required to capture the scenes in a weather like that where it was mostly misty, dull having considerably low light and very less contrast. But from a P&S camera and with beginners' photography skills these were what me and Travelaholic were able to capture. Not to mention that most of the times the landscape pics were shot from the moving jeep, which is not known for a smooth ride quality! Hopefully will try to do a better job if we are not fortunate to travel to this region again.
Seeing the entire stretch of Manali-Leh highway in rain is indeed very uncommon. Though we would have loved to see the clear and sunny weather as seen commonly, this was indeed a different type of view of the region.

THANKS a lot. may be i missed it, but which month did you do this. are the roads not closed after rains? and considering the road conditions you jeep and the LC did it is understandable but the fact that the CEDIA also did it is really laudable.
thanks again. i love this thread.

Pleasure is all mine. We started the journey on July 24th and continued for 13 days. Well this year the weather has been quite unpredictable and though the Manali-Leh highway opened up rather soon, the immediate after rain conditions in north India and subsequent snow in the upper regions didn't allow common people to take the journey. Our date of journey was postponed couple of times for this. Though the road conditions may always change without notice, but still we should take as much safety precautions as we can from our side. This year the rain conditions affected the opening of Rohtang for good number of days and also huge layers of snow at Barlacha la delayed the opening of the roads after Darcha.
Yes driving up a sedan or hatch is really a tough job as i have mentioned. The Cedia was mostly driven by Mandeep, who is a highly experienced driver and offroader too. Not to mention he is well familiarised with the route. Thats why it sailed through everything and also the fabulous construction of Cedia, as seen later, protected the vehicle from scrapping its underbelly. Few of the times Rahul also drove this, and he also did a brilliant job.

[fazalaliadil]

Dear Kandisa,

Firstly a big thank you for your effort put in, resulting in a very comprehensive write up, describing the experiences in detail and giving us the near feel of the encountered difficulties.

My friends and brothers had done just this route about two years back, I heard from them, the physical difficulties endured due to the thin oxygen levels and how not to move fast or in haste.

The sheer beauty and raw nature of this place has been very well captured by the photographer, good composition and balancing of the landscape.

Just loved the 3rd and 5th, landscape-Jeep photographs, just after the 'On way to Pang' video in post #43.

This is one journey you all will never forget and always cherish more and more as time and years go by.

Will be back again.

Regards,

[rahultomahawk]

Hi Soumen, Just bumped across this thread ,very nicely written and well explained .
Reading this again got Me, Smita and Antara transported back to our jouney and relived it once again. Love to go there once again.
Thanks to Mandeep and Sanjay to organise this trip in the best way they could.
Looking foward for further updates.

[samarth.bhatia]

Kandisa,
It's been brilliant just reading through your thread, and since I just came across it, I wanted to read till the last post before giving my comments (hope they're welcome!) :
1. Although like most of the readers here, I have read a lot of travelogues about the Drive to Leh/Ladakh, this does have a very special touch to it. It's really amazing what you guys have acheived.

2. The Jeep looks superb. Mr.Mandeep seems to have done a great job on it.

3. Taking the Jeep to Leh was a brave step, no doubt. Although it is quite capable of handling rough conditions, the pleasures to be had in taking the pain of exposing yourselves to the climate are numerous, to say the least.

4. I was very happy to see you do such a comprehensive and thorough job of telling this story,with the videos and pictures. It really did put me right there with you guys! (Well, almost!)

4. Through the effort of rebuilding the Jeep and taking it to Leh, you single handedly lived my dream! No kidding, I have made a pact with my friends from college that one day, soon, we will drive there, in a Jeep. This factor makes this thread even more special to me.
Oh, and I've been planning to upgrade the tyres on my car as well to Maxxis, so there you have it. Another reason to find the thread interesting!

Good Job Mate!
Hoping to hear more about this soon!

[amitwlele]

Hello Kandisa,

First of all let me congratulate you on this wonderful expedition on jeep and secondly for this superb travelogue.

I had also visited Leh- Ladakh just after the cloudburst this year and the road condition was worst. Thankfully i was not the one who was doing the driving and the local drivers did an awesome job negotiating the terrain.

I am really amazed that you did Jispa - Leh in one stretch. We had done a stopover at Sarchu. Because of the cloudbusrt the normal road to Leh from Sarchu had been washed out and we had to take a detour of 150 Kms.

One request - Can you PM me the details of Expedition on Wheels. I am dying to go on such kind of road trips but do not want to do it alone.

Cheers,
Amit

[Kandisa]

Originally Posted by fazalaliadil

Dear Kandisa,

Firstly a big thank you for your effort put in, resulting in a very comprehensive write up, describing the experiences in detail and giving us the near feel of the encountered difficulties.

Thank you sir for those warm comments.

My friends and brothers had done just this route about two years back, I heard from them, the physical difficulties endured due to the thin oxygen levels and how not to move fast or in haste.

Even we also faced the same, but due to proper water intakes and rests in between, the uneasiness was temporary, only on the higher passes, except the last stretch of the Leh journey. Acclimatization is definitely required and the travel plan should be made accordingly. Sanjay's homeopathic medicines also helped quite a lot.

The sheer beauty and raw nature of this place has been very well captured by the photographer, good composition and balancing of the landscape.

Just loved the 3rd and 5th, landscape-Jeep photographs, just after the 'On way to Pang' video in post #43.

These appreciations, coming from a person like you, really means a LOT for the photographers i.e. me and my wife Travelaholic.

...This is one journey you all will never forget and always cherish more and more as time and years go by..

Absolutely, a Leh journey is always unforgettable. And even so when its a first time to this region and more so when the journey is done in own JEEP, restored from an auctioned vehicle to the level of a reliable piece of machine.

Originally Posted by rahultomahawk

Hi Soumen, Just bumped across this thread ,very nicely written and well explained .
Reading this again got Me, Smita and Antara transported back to our jouney and relived it once again. Love to go there once again..

Thanks a lot Rahul. Same here too; the memories of the journey comes back very vividly while narrating the experiences in the travelogue.

Originally Posted by samarth.bhatia

Kandisa,
It's been brilliant just reading through your thread, and since I just came across it, I wanted to read till the last post before giving my comments (hope they're welcome!) :
1. Although like most of the readers here, I have read a lot of travelogues about the Drive to Leh/Ladakh, this does have a very special touch to it. It's really amazing what you guys have acheived

2. The Jeep looks superb. Mr.Mandeep seems to have done a great job on it. .

3. Taking the Jeep to Leh was a brave step, no doubt. Although it is quite capable of handling rough conditions, the pleasures to be had in taking the pain of exposing yourselves to the climate are numerous, to say the least.

Thanks a lot. All i can say, yes the journey was indeed different. It did take some logical reasoning to decide whether indeed we would take the jeep to this journey. Potential difficulties were many but at the end, the heart won and both me and wife decided to go ahead with this. I must mention she is a die-hard fan of jeeps too and was brave enough to be ready for this jeep journey.

...4. I was very happy to see you do such a comprehensive and thorough job of telling this story,with the videos and pictures. It really did put me right there with you guys! (Well, almost!)

Glad that you liked the travelogue so much.

..5. Through the effort of rebuilding the Jeep and taking it to Leh, you single handedly lived my dream! No kidding, I have made a pact with my friends from college that one day, soon, we will drive there, in a Jeep. This factor makes this thread even more special to me.

The desire to take the jeep to Leh was somewhat there since the time the jeep was getting rebuilt. But to be frank, never thought it would be done so soon. With the launch of a modern and new jeep available from the showroom, you might be spared from the pain of rebuilding a jeep if you go for the Mahindra THAR. But the rebuild in itself is another lifetime experience. Let me wish you 'BEST OF LUCK' for this future trip.

Oh, and I've been planning to upgrade the tyres on my car as well to Maxxis, so there you have it. Another reason to find the thread interesting!

Actually this particular variety of Maxxis is a very reasonable priced variant of tyres. Though i was searching for it for quite some time, but finally got it few weeks before the trip. Great experiences so far.

Originally Posted by amitwlele

Hello Kandisa,
First of all let me congratulate you on this wonderful expedition on jeep and secondly for this superb travelogue.
I had also visited Leh- Ladakh just after the cloudburst this year and the road condition was worst. Thankfully i was not the one who was doing the driving and the local drivers did an awesome job negotiating the terrain.

Thank you Amit. The cloudburst was a really unfortunate incident. We were lucky enough to return just before this event took place.

I am really amazed that you did Jispa - Leh in one stretch. We had done a stopover at Sarchu. Because of the cloudbusrt the normal road to Leh from Sarchu had been washed out and we had to take a detour of 150 Kms.

Actually we wanted to avoid a night stay at Sarchu, so had to do the Jispa-Leh stretch at one go. And looking at the kind of weather, that was actually a good decision. Can you give some details of the detour you took?

One request - Can you PM me the details of Expedition on Wheels. I am dying to go on such kind of road trips but do not want to do it alone.

Sending you the details.

[MohsinRoadster]

Just loved the videos. This is surely turning out to be one of the
best drives in this forum.