[amitwlele]

Originally Posted by parsh

Kudos to BRO. They are indeed doing a Thankless job. I remember the Sikkim and Rajasthan borders and whatever difficult terrain it may be they seem to make their job and outcome pretty high above any standards set. Just wish the inner road builders and authorities take some learning from them instead of just filling their bellys. Those are some pretty good anecdotes you caught. All the way superb log till now.

Thank you parsh for the compliments. Fully agree with you on the above. In Pune it takes ages to complete concretisation of roads and before it is finished some other authority is ready to dig it up. No planning what so ever.

Originally Posted by ANUJ GEORGE

amitwlele,
That was a unique trip and incredible writing. I wish, I could do that trip myself. Congratuations, and please post the remaining part of your trip.

If you do not mind can you share some more information about planning the stay at Pangong? Did you approached any travel agents to do the booking and sort?

And special appreciations for your Mother (In Law) for her noble efforts.

Thank you Anuj would pass on the compliments to MIL. Sorry for not completing the TL. The last day pics of Srinagar is pending and would post it in a couple of days. Last week was totally tied up (not in work) but in watching World Cup and the weekend was lost in hang over

I would also PM you the number of the person who does the bookings for us every year.

[amitwlele]

Finally after enjoying India's stupendous performance in the world cup decided to finish the TL with some snaps of the last day of our journey.
Jai Ho India.

On Day 10 we had reached Srinagar and headed straight to the House Boats. One more unique experience for me. Day 11 was the last day when we were going to fly back from Srinagar to Mumbai via Delhi.

I was sure impressed with the houseboats. The stay was very comfortable. Each boat had 3 double rooms with a common dining area. The intricate carving on the furniture and the kashmiri carpets gave it a royal feel and i sure felt like a Maharaja.

Some snaps of the house boat exterior and the interiors.











In the morning while we were packing up and getting ready we had the mobile shops (shopkeepers in mini shikaras) coming to the house boats selling all kinds of wares from flowers to kashimiri handicrafts.

Some quick snaps taken in the morning before leaving for the airport.

Florist on the move


Clean up of the lake in progress


Beautiful Roses in full bloom


While we were getting to leave the houseboats we came to know that it was curfew day in Srinagar that day. We were not aware of that till that point of time. But the houseboat owners assured us as we had the air tickets with us it would not be a problem for us to reach the airport. So we quickly boarded our water taxis which took us from the house boats to the land taxis.



We reached safely to the airport with checks at 2-3 points. But on showing the air tickets were allowed to go through to the airport. So finally time had come to bid adieu to a wonderful place with a heavy heart and with a promise to return back soon.

With this i end this thread and thank T-BHP, without which it would not have been possible for me to share this. Also thank everybody who viewed it and provided compliments. Signing off.

[amitwlele]

Originally Posted by ANUJ GEORGE

amitwlele,

If you do not mind can you share some more information about planning the stay at Pangong? Did you approached any travel agents to do the booking and sort?

@Anuj,

All our bookings have been done for the last many years by Mountain Trails. Their website is www.mountaintrails.in

They have sales office in Delhi and Registered office in Leh.

The contact person in Leh is Mr.Chhospel - +91 94191 77905

Or in Delhi you can contact Mr. Nitin Lall - +91 96543 04050

@MODS - I am not able to PM Anuj hence sharing this information on public post. This is in no way promoting the above operators. Selection of the operator is at the sole discretion of the traveller.

[ANUJ GEORGE]

Amit,
Thank you very much for the information you have shared. I am planning to do a road trip in may (2nd May onwards). We have got at least 4 weeks time for the road. Present plan is to head north from Cochin. Don't really know how far we will go. Travelling with 2 kids is the only worry. But they have been doing the road trips right from their early days. So hoping for the best.

It is the travelogues like yours, that gives me the inspiration for the trip. Great work Amit. I enjoyed every bit of your write up. I liked that picture of mobile florist.

[amitwlele]

Originally Posted by ANUJ GEORGE

Amit,
Thank you very much for the information you have shared. I am planning to do a road trip in may (2nd May onwards). We have got at least 4 weeks time for the road. Present plan is to head north from Cochin. Don't really know how far we will go. Travelling with 2 kids is the only worry. But they have been doing the road trips right from their early days. So hoping for the best.

It is the travelogues like yours, that gives me the inspiration for the trip. Great work Amit. I enjoyed every bit of your write up. I liked that picture of mobile florist.

Wishing you all the best for your Road Trip. Would be waiting for an exciting TL from you when you are back

How old are your kids? In some of the earlier trips to Leh there have been kids as young as 3 year old. So i think it should not be a problem. Only question is to keep them entertained during the long journey. But i guess your kids are experienced enough.

[ANUJ GEORGE]

Originally Posted by amitwlele

How old are your kids? In some of the earlier trips to Leh there have been kids as young as 3 year old. So i think it should not be a problem. Only question is to keep them entertained during the long journey. But i guess your kids are experienced enough.

Thank you for the good wishes, I will need quite a lot of them wishes, if I have to reach Leh. I got a feeling that Leh is too much to ask for on my first real long drive.
My kids are 6 and 4 1/2 yrs old. I think they should be OK for long hours in the car. Will stock up loads of books and toys to keep them engaged. I saw a good thread sometime before about taking kids to a long road trip. Hotel food for weeks is a real worry for me. Anyway, I am "hoping" for the best.

[mmxylorider]

Nicely written, Amit. And kudos to your MIL for continuing each year and providing opportunities for others to see and feel that part of India.

[advaitlele]

Amit - It's never too late to post such wonderful log and photos. And what amazing trip you had last year. Special mention of your mother-in-law she is doing wonderful work thru her NGO.

We surely need to meet up; same last name and same campus next tapri meet in phase2?

[amitwlele]

Originally Posted by mmxylorider

Nicely written, Amit. And kudos to your MIL for continuing each year and providing opportunities for others to see and feel that part of India.

Thank you xylorider for the compliments.

Originally Posted by advaitlele

Amit - It's never too late to post such wonderful log and photos. And what amazing trip you had last year. Special mention of your mother-in-law she is doing wonderful work thru her NGO.

We surely need to meet up; same last name and same campus next tapri meet in phase2?

Great to see one more Lele on BHP Thank you for the compliments.

You bet we need to meet up. By the way Tapri meet is planned on 10th April. Please put in your name in the confirmed attendees on that thread.