Ladakh Expedition 2012

Pursuit of happiness 2012
- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi
Whats in this TRAVELOGUE?
How did it start! Few Prelims and background works before our kick off day! Code of conducts during trip The kick off day! Day 1 Bangalore to Thane Day 2 Thane to Chittorgarh Day 3 Chittorgarh to Amrithsar Day 4 Amrithsar to Khajjiar Day 5 Khajjiar to Jammu Day 6 Jammu to Srinagar Day 7 Srinagar Day 8 Srinagar to Gulmarg to Srinagar Day 9 Srinagar to Kargil Day 10 Kargil to Zanskar valley to Kargil Day 11 Kargil to Leh Day 12 Leh Day 13 Leh Day 14 Leh to Nubra valley to Turtuk to Diskit Day 15 Diskit to Pangong lake to Leh Day 16 Leh to Moore plane to Keylong Day 17 Keylong to Roopnagar Day 18 Roopnagar to Mumbai Day 19 Mumbai to Pune Day 20 Pune to Bangalore Maps of Ladakh region, J&K Trip Summary Ladakh and travel help sources Team on mission!!!
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How did it start!
I always read heard and studied about the mighty Himalayan Mountains and their offerings to the adventurers. I was told that the Himalaya is the destiny for any kind of adventurer. So, from my college days I have been dreaming of doing something explicit and attempt a road trips across various adventurous places. The first destiny which uses to strike me always was The Mighty Himalaya. Every time I heard Mount Everest; a spark in me Go man! If not Everest, why not other Himalayan mountains? thats it, the desire to do Himalayan road trip got intensified. Of course, it did not come to execution took time for me to make it possible until I came across a colleague and friend Prashanth M who showed me pictures of his Bike trip from DELHI to LADAKH two years back. I must say He was the IGNITER who lit the fire in me! I started dreaming to do this adventure with bike in a similar fashion. The circumstances did not support aggressively to have this trip immediately until my neighbor in the same apartment and road & car freak Avinash Madan happened to drop-in once to my house told HeyI just returned from my one man LADAKH expedition trip with my Scorpio. That day he has blown my sleepy desire of LADAKH expedition and he was the CATALYST who added tons of fuel to the under hood fire! His trip pictures initiated a direct invitation to LADAKH. I could experience Newtons 1st law being enforced on me; yes, I was shaken-up and forced to look back on what I have dreamt and where do I stand. Thats it THE LADAKH CALLING begins. The next day, I had put the same invitation THE LADAKH CALLING to my friend, colleague and neighbor in next apartment Badari Prasad. I knew!! He will join me for this mission; as the adventurer in him and me were of same interest. The surprise to me was the very next day, Badari came to me and told I AM IN for this trip. Then what else? I told our motivator Avinash Next time we are with you for this expedition. All this story and initiation happened in September 2011. The judgment day! One fine day I met Avinash in parking lot of our apartment servicing his Scorpio (Yes, as I told he is hard core car lover and love to clean and maintain the vehicle himself); and to my alert he told me Hey, I planned LADAKH drive this August 18th - are you IN?. There were many questions and thoughts were running in my mind (leaves, family, budget, what car? etc) along with excitement and many more horse power getting generated in me. As a step 1, we started getting ready for the trip by doing sports, exercises, studying the maps, knowing the Ladakh better over the internet etc and started dreaming mountains all the nights. This was during June 2012. Finally, Badari Prasad and I decided 200% to do this expedition in the name of Pursuit of happiness for self; when we told Avinash, he was very happy and his excitement got doubled. Now, we are gearing up for the mission with 207 horses; yes, a 120BHP wild beast called The Scorpio and 87BHP civilized beast called The Swift. During the course of time on the successive days; our group got increased with few more adventurers; Dheeraj Mooteri and Pandu Vashisht. Besides the travel preparation; the photographer within us woke up on what gear we need to take there. We did not want to miss any possible landscape and scenery. So, I decided to buy an ultra wide Sigma 10-20mm lens and asked my friend in USA; Santosh Ajjannavar to get it from USA. The lens made it to Bangalore right at the time when we had to start for the trip. My other friends arranged for other lenses like 70-300mm lens, 50mm prime lens, 18-55mm default lens and camcorder for video shooting. We also took aim and shoot cameras for handy and fast need based clicks. So, the bags were full of NIKON, CANON, PENTAX, SONY and bunch of lenses and Tripods. We happen to know about a human GPS machine and High Vay King - H V Kumar and popularly known as HVK across India. Yes, he is a blessing in disguise for us. HVK is a hyper energetic and heavily loaded with information on Indian roads and terrains and very passionate in helping all road freaks to assist and plan their trips and make them memorable. He planned, guided and travelled virtually all the roads with g-Latitude with us. For those who would like to know more about this phenomenal personality; I have details at the end of the travelogue.
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Few Prelims and background works before our kick off day!
We studied the possible weather conditions in the Himalayas and effects of weather on our health; especially how to overcome with AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) which happens due to high altitude. Travel itinerary and maps A medical kit was made ready exclusively with all the required medicines and accessories A tool kit is made ready! All possible and required tools, tow rope, shawl, gum boots, jerry cans to store extra fuel, inverter, were gathered GPS system (Map My India) as a back up to the HVKs travel guide All possible winter clothing Surplus cash (NOT CARDS) to ensure you dont run searching ATMs. There are hardly ATMS in the LADAKH circuit after Srinagar. Though you find ATM in very few places like Kargil, Leh you never know the ATMs might run out of cash Cosmetic kits (skin care for dry and cold weather) Photography kit with all necessary gears (Ultra wide angle lens like 10-20mm from SIGMA will take you to the real heights I suggest to take this lens if you are going LADAKH) Ready to eat food and backup fast foods like maggi packs, biscuits, chocolates, dry fruits etc. Contact details of all Maruti service stations on the route Accommodation list in all possible destinations Car documents in original and 5-10 copies of each, photographs of each travelers(in case required or asked for), Pollution Under Control certificate for cars, Yellow sticker of 1 inch wide on the each cars right headlight (a must in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Punjab; cops will catch you if this is not there) , No tints on the window glasses(J&K is strict on this, else get ready for hefty fine) Have spare keys of the vehicle as a backup during the travel
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Code of Conducts during trip.

The drive plan has been made taking into account distances, realistic timelines and above all, the need to cover all the places in the plan. Certain amount of dislocation and delay is buffered in, but there cannot be any major changes in plan on a day to day basis Remember that in this route, there are hardly any facilities and this Plan recognizes such constraints and specific overnight halts are planned with specific hotels in mind. We MUST reach target destinations without fail; else you end up in no mans land (Risky). The plan ensures that we complete the trip on schedule so that everyone can get back to work on planned dates. This is a driving holiday, so you will spend all day in the car. All departures will be early morning, before breakfast, we will not even wait for bed tea. Everyone gets ready at the designated time, to avoid any delays or dislocation Why this fuss about leaving on time we may have to cross congested traffic corridors before rest of the world wakes up, there may be water crossings at certain times of the day, need to avoid high passes late in the day, reach before dark, and so on There will be no mobile connectivity in many places. Lets not crib that we are not connected to our near and dear ones. We were advised by one of our friends father You are on a dream trip and you need pack all

your contacts, calls, work stuff etc into a bag and throw it before you start, of course you can get the same bag back to you once you are back We should ideally drive together, one after the other, within eye contact each car should keep an eye on the car immediately behind so that if anyone gets left behind we will immediately know. Which means each of us must ensure that the car immediately behind is following you, else you stop and find out what has happened to him. We use signals to communicate with each other 3 quick flashes of headlight repeatedly to tell the car ahead that you want to stop for some reason In the highways in the night, use some unique light signature say, switch ON fog lamps so that the car ahead knows that you are still following. There will be frequent stops once we hit the mountain circuits for photography & toilet breaks. Try not to experiment too much so that we can all move on together. Considering we are travelling interstate, we may attract the attention of cops and others leave it to the head of the convoy to tackle any such issues unless you are the person stopped first. Keep cash for toll charges ready so that you do not get delayed at toll gates In case you see the car ahead stopping or slowing, be watchful that there is no landslide or other such situation that requires you also to stop or slow down. Keep your ears and eyes open for any impending mechanical problems in your car or problems on the road. Avoid challenging local vehicles or people. At check posts, please keep your car documents, personal IDs and permits ready for inspection and recording in the registers kept there. Stay & food facilities will be organized centrally by one person. We will have common food halts. Fuel halts can be planned separately as long as you keep track of those no-fuel pump sectors and also keep your reserve fuel. Do not go down below quarter tank capacity at any time. Mostly start the day with a full tank of fuel. Pack your belongings such that you do not have to dismantle the whole car to get that one small thing out of the bottom of the pile! Appoint one person in your car to co-ordinate depleting water and food supplies so that they are constantly available. Use fuel stops to catch up with such routines; do not stop specifically for such things. Keep torches and essential tools easily accessible. Constant company of your co-passengers and fellow travelers can cause friction sometimes, hence keep a cool temperament!! Try to stick to general driving skills. We can test to extremes, our capabilities of driving when we are alone!
Details: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/107667-humblehd-ii-indo-polish-himalayan-expedition-ladakh-himachal-pradesh-29.html
4. The kick off day! Day 1

18th August 2012: Bangalore to Thane Route: Bangalore- Belgaum Pune Mumbai- Thane On August 18th 2012, we the team has started the expedition in the morning around 6AM with a target to reach Thane by dinner time and meet HV Kumar for a dinner. We took NH4 and started driving towards Belgaum. At Tumkur toll gate, we paused for a quick dry breakfast which we carried from home and continued. All charged up with high energy and excitement kept on driving nonstop until Belgaum.
We had quick lunch in Belgaum on the road as shown above and resumed our marathon to Thane and by 9.30PM we reached Thane and HV Kumar and his friends were waiting for us on the way. We had dinner with HV Kumar; exchanged few thoughts and took various tips and inputs from HVK. One major tip from HVK about crossing the deadly slush stretches on Rothang pass on a return trip was There is no alternate route to you guys and you people just have to PUSH IT!!. This was the only mantra for us throughout the LADAKH circuit drive. Yes, there are no alternate or sophisticated routes there in LADAKH region; thats why we call the route as circuit; once entered.just move on or return back. To add more fun to the trip along with the above mantra!! Badari cracked a joke from HVKs fans forum on a NANO. The joke goes like this A NANO on a highway breaks down. The NANO driver seeks a help from a passing by BMW car. The BMW car owner agrees to help him by offering a tow service to him. They makes a mutual agreement that if the BMW goes faster, then the NANO guy will flash his headlights to indicate him to slow down; BMW guy agrees to this and he starts towing NANO. At one point of time, an AUDI overtakes the BMW; this provokes the BMW driver and he starts racing with AUDI without bothering NANO behind him. The NANO guy running into an uncontrollable state, starts flashing his headlights to BMW guy to slow down. At a far distance on the highway; a cop points his speed gun to these cars and finds that the cars are at 250KMPH speed. Cops reports to his higher at control station I see a BMW and a AUDI racing at a speed of 250KMPH+ and there is a NANO flashing headlights behind them and asking for a way to BMW So, whenever we saw dangerous roads like slushy, rocky, steep, narrow, slippery, water crossing etc we used the mantra YOU PUSS IT (You push it). This kept on boosting us. And, whenever we saw a BMW, AUDI, NANO and anybody flash headlights from behind -- lot of smiles, giggles and laughs on everybody within the cabin.
After having dinner with HVK in Thane, we continued towards Surat. The plan was to drive that night through out and make it to Kishangarh by next day evening. But, the unpredictable weather gave us a different challenge; it started raining very heavily and we were sensing difficulty to drive due to poor road visibility. We pulled over to a petrol pump and slept in cars until 5.30AM. We resumed our plan after a morning fresh up and a tea at hotel on the highway.
5. Day 2
19th August 2012: Thane to Chittorgarh Route: Thane Surat Ankoleshwar - Vadodra Ahmedabad Himmatnagar - Udaipur Chittorgarh We drove towards Gujarat and on NH8 at Ankleshwar; we took a right deviation towards old NH8 which goes over GOLDEN BRIDGE over Narmada river. The bridge is constructed with a very good quality of iron by British and the cost of construction was very hefty that people made a statement for the cost involved in constructing this bridge; we can construct a bridge with gold itself. Hence, the bridge is known as GOLDEN BRIDGE. This bridge was the only means of trade between Ankaleswar and Baruch cities during British rule. The photography is prohibited here. However, google can help us with pics.
After a tea break near GOLDEN BRIDGE, we started towards Baruch town and from there we again joined back to NH8. This deviation was taken to avoid a huge trucks jam on the regular NH8 between these cities all day. Of course we can also have the ride over GOLDEN BRIDGE. After we cross Baruch; the next big city is a Vadodara. From Vadodara to Ahmedabad we took Express highway. This highway is one of the finest and smoothest roads I have travelled so far. There are no lay bays, hotels, petrol pumps, dhabas on this stretch of around 95KMS. Driving at easy 140-150KMPH is absolute pleasure on this road. We need to exit from this express highway towards Sardar vallabh bahi Patel bypass. We reached Udaipur in the evening around 4PM. Had a tea break and continued towards Chittorgarh. Stopped for dinner and a power nap in a dhaba.
6. Day 3
20th August 2012: Chittorgarh to Amrithsar Route: Chittorgarh Ajmer - Kishangarh Sujangarh Ratangarh Sardarshahar Rawatsar - Hanumangarh Abohar-Fazilka-Ferozepur-Zira Amrithsar) After the dinner and a power nap, we started around 11PM towards Ajmer and sardarshahar. Though the road was a 2 lane, it was very good in quality. We came across few kilometers of the stretch where we had deserts onour both sides of the road. We off roaded for few snaps.
We kept on driving until morning and stopped for a freshup stop in Sardarshahar and then a little further drive in Rajasthan with few glimpses of sand dunes and long desert views took us to a dhaba for a lunch. Had a typical dhaba food with khatiya and phali on it. Having lunch in Rajasthan at 40 degrees!! Yummy.
There was a nice writing on a board WATER IS LIFE, SAVE LIFE Of course, they really know the importance of water. We then started driving towards AMRITHSAR the wagah border/Attari border. Reached the border around 4:3050PM. parked the vehicles hurriedly and ran to the border with intention not to miss the parade. It was an Eid day and the border was fully packed with people and temperature was very appropriate to boil us.
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After wagah, we came to Amrithsar and entered into a on the fly hotel and after a little bit relaxation, we went to my long dreamt religious destination THE GOLDEN TEMPLE. Ahh!! What a place, absolute peace and sense of satisfaction to be there.
We returned to hotel and slept like dead bodies. It was hectic nonstop drive to all of us.
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7. Day 4
21th August 2012: Amrithsar to Khajjiar, HP Route: Amrithsar Pathankot - Khajjiar After a sound sleep, the day started for us with a news from the hotel guy! Sirji Aaaaapka laal gadi ka tyre puncture hua hai car tyre puncture. This incident has offset our plans of visiting GOLDEN TEMPLE again and then moving towards Pathankot. We changed the tyre and skipped going to temple again and moved ahead. The entire day was a drive only trip. We entered Himachal Pradesh during the mid of the day and could notice sudden change in the weather and terrain. It was lush green and all foggy and heavy foggy roads. We came across few water falls on road, took leisure photography breaks and then in the evening entered Kala top.
Drove through Dalhousie and reached Khajjiar around 7:30PM. The drive from K-top entry point to Khajjiar was a sooper foggy and lush green mountain with beautiful sceneries. We checked into a HPTDC hotel by name Devdar and the hotel is fantastic with 2 huge rooms in which all of us can easily fit and party. Avinash saw a picture from
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someones travelogue. The picture has a lonely house in the middle of lush green woods. That was the motivation for him to add up Khajjiar in the route. Since it was evening and total foggy we did not had any visual hints on what is there in front of our hotel. We were thinking to ask hotel people on where that house is and how to go there.
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8. Day 5
22th August 2012: Khajjiar Jammu Route: Khajjiar Pathankot - Jammu
Day break was with a mist cover all around our hotel. It had also rained overnight. We felt it was a flop show for all the adventure that we had planned for the day (Paragliding, Zorbing) at Khajjiar Lake. Avinash was pretty disappointed that with this weather, he would not be able to have clear view of the Guest House that was on his mind all night long. Cloud cover cleared by around 8, and to his surprise, the lake and the guest house that was on his mind was right in front of us. We cheered each other like mad guys after a cricket match. Got ready quickly to go out for a photo shoot which almost lasted 3 hrs long! Meanwhile Pandu had left both the keys of Scorp inside Scorp and he was getting ready for a shower of swears from Avinash. Even though we got to know from Pandu, we did not want to spoil Avinashs elated mood. We found a right moment and prompted Pandu to disclose the same. Avinash walked back to car in a bad mood (as it would certainly spoil the plan for the rest of the day) and was working out an all alternatives to open up the car. By then a group of HP boys arrived in a XYLO and we asked for help (from the driver). But to our surprise, the whole gang of boys was on the job of saving the car from any damage, and yet opens up the car. They showed their dexterity in opening up the beading of the rear door window and helped us opening the car. With the same dexterity, they also replaced the window pane. The Job was done without a bit of damage to the car. However, Pandu came to senses and was happy that all ended with a happy note. The XYLO guys also shared the info on the quality of the road ahead towards Kishtwar where Avinash was to drive. The plan was Scoprio and Dzire will go together till Khajjiar and from there a slight change in the travel plans. 1) Scorpio will take Kishatwar route via chamba killer and reach Srinagar 2) Dzire will come back to pathankot and then move towards Jammu and Srinagar Since it was a tough challenging route for Dzire to take chamba killer stretch due to low ground clearance; we had tailored route for desire and plan was to catch up with each other in Srinagar. As per the planned routes; we split the convoy till Srinagar where we were supposed to meet after 2 days of drive. Wished each other a happy journey and drove towards Dalhousie. We got to realize that it was our share of Kishtwar road as we had not realized the quality of cliff that was on our side as we drove yesterday night. As our breakfast itself was at around 1.30pm, we did not stop anywhere till Jammu. Post Dalhousie the road was drying up, yet it had been battered by yesterday nights rain. We also came across a live Landslide that was not yet cleared. Drive till Pathankot was uneventful except that we took the RIGHT route from Dunera. Exit of Punjab at Lakhenpur was indicated with a (welcome!) check post before Ravi River. Driver Id, details of the vehicle and passengers were noted down before we were permitted to enter Jammu & Kashmir. Lakhenpur entrance was pretty empty as compared to the stories of long traffic jams that we had heard about it before our trip. On the way, I got a call from my team mate/friend Ayesha Dhar; who is basically from Jammu town. She offered a home stay for that night with her parents in Jammu to which we couldnt say NO. Though she was in Pune; she was virtually at Jammu. We had nice Kashmiri style home food and lots of discussion with Ayeshas father. It was a nice interaction with uncle and uncle was very much excited to see us driving all the way from Bangalore till there. Uncle
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and aunty were of the opinion that we might be going to Vaishno devi temple. But, as the discussion began and we disclosed that we are heading to LADAKH!! Uncle went into a pause for a few seconds and the immediate statement from him was This is absolute madness, you people should finish such madness before the age of 30 years we busted into laugh. Uncle then stared hinting us on what to see, how is the region, etc It was over 12 midnight, we concluded the talks and slept. Thanks to Ayesha and her parents for such a nice hospitality.
9. Day 6
23rd August 2012: Jammu to Srinagar Route: Jammu - Udhampur Anantnag Srinagar We left at 0630hrs after seeking blessings from Ayeshas parents. They had almost treated us like their sons. We stopped at a hotel on the way in Udhampur and had breakfast. We were looking ahead for Jawahar tunnel on the day. I was very much excited to experience the drive through the Jawahar Tunnel. I heard a lot about this tunnel being the separation of Kashmir valle and the Jammu region and there is visual feel of actual Kashmir once we cross this tunnel. After driving for almost five hours, we were crossing Patnitop. The drive was pretty picturesque. An hour later, stopped at the Badarwah Dam View restaurant for a photo session of the new dam being built. The restaurant server only Rajma chawal and tea, nothing else. After some eight hours of driving since morning, we reached the 2.5KMS long Jawahar Tunnel. It was time to stop for a engine cool break, and we chose to stop at the Titanic View Point, about six kilometers from the tunnel. There was a madarasi hotel whose menu showed us a Dosa on platesbut, unfortunately it was closed and we had our first maggi of the trip.
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Car was badly dirty since last 6 days of drive. We just decided to have a water service done for the car. Drove into a water service station, and for the level of dirt that had accumulated, it sucked away good ONE HOUR of our daylight. Even the serviceman asked Ap kahAn se Aye ho? Mujhe nahi lagtA ye miTTi yahAn ki hai ! was quite amused for his acumen. We had also noticed that the high beam of the left headlight was fused and we had to replace the bulb. We drove into Srinagar by around 7.30 and we missed an important turn. We had to enquire the route towards DAL LAKE. At one U-TURN, we noticed a KA registered Innova. Many thoughts flew on who it could be. It was indeed Amber Rao (A fellow HVK Forumite). He sped ahead of us to indicate to pull over. After a 2 min informal talk, followed him to HOTEL MALIK PALACE right in front of Gate 1 of DAL LAKE. Post a longer informal chat, we settled down in our room and had dinner at an adjacent Punjabi dabha. Our hotel surprisingly was more popular for carnivorous food than vegetarian food.
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10. Day 7
24th August 2012: Srinagar The plan was to spend the day in and around Srinagar. However we were advised to make a visit to Khir bhavani temple nearby Srinagar by HVK and also I had seen the Khir bhavani picture on Ayeshas (my team member in office) desktop and also in her parents home. So, we decided to visit temple and got up leisurely and made it to temple and Ambar Rao the other Bangalore Innova team joined us until temple and it was indeed a nice peaceful temple one should visit. From Khir bhavani, the Innova team turned to Kargil and we returned back to Srinagar.
Avinash was expected to arrive at Srinagar from his Chamba-Killar drive (Kishtwar) on the previous day; unfortunately he was struck by a massive landslide in kishatwar; and today his wife Shilpa is arriving in Srinagar by flight. So, we went to Srinagar Airport to pick her. The big story we cant miss to share here on what happened in Airport!! We punched in airport into our navigation and Google maps SURPRISE!! No route and info. So, we blindly started driving towards airport and asked few people on the way. Finally found a board AIRPORT. Upon approaching it a gun man stopped us asked us why? What? From where? Etc. and he told us to declare and deposit all our electronic gadgets along with the serial numbers of each devicesShocked and funnily we ask WHY? The reply was still hilarious and stunning YOU ARE ENTERING MILITARY AIRPORT. Hurrye!!! Then we asked for domestic airport and the gun man directed us to actual airport. By this time shilpa already landed and for our bad luck she just lost her cell phone the previous day.hmmm now the story gets more thrilling. When we found the entry to airport an airport officer stopped our car and told only one can go in and pick. Badari was driving, so I and Dheeraj got out immediately and car went inside. We were waiting out in killing sunlight of 40 degrees. Within no time the car came out but no Shilpa in it. Badari was sent back to unload each and every luggage out and then enter. OMG!! All luggages came out of car and again we both were waiting in sun but this time with big red umbrella ON and few gun men aiming the gun towards us and staring as if they are going to shoot if we move. We could not dare to take a click of our self in that funny bakraa situation. Finally car came back with shilpa and we moved to hotel. After a quick lunch and a fresh up, we went out for a Shikhara ride in DAL LAKE.
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Dal Lake has 3 island 2 of which are marked with four chinar trees at the four corners, thus are known as Char Chinar. The Dal is famous not only for its beauty, but for its vibrance, because it sustains within its periphery, a life that is unique anywhere in the world. Its worth visiting DAL LAKE in all the 4 seasons. The houseboat and shikara communities have lived for centuries on the Dal, and so complete is their infrastructure on the lake, that they never have to step on land! Doctors, tailors, and bakers - you'll see them all in tiny wooden shops on the lake, near picturesque vegetable gardens and acres of lotus gardens. A shikara ride is one of the most soothing, relaxing aspects of a holiday in Kashmir. Shikaras are long boats which crowd the Srinagar lakes. They are used for getting back and forth from the houseboats or for longer tours. It is worth to take a pleasure ride around the lake in shikara. Shikara is a light rowing boat. The two hour boat ride took us on a relaxing sightseeing tour of interior parts of the calm and placid waters of Dal Lake, and be part of shopping- byshikara expeditions. We went past he floating gardens, known as "Rad" in Kashmiri, blossom with lotus flowers during July and August. We did some shopping for our near and dear ones at home. We did not have time to cover Chashme Shahi, Shankaracharya Temple, Nishat Bagh, Hari Parbat and Hazrat Bal. One of the prominent miss was Lal Chowk. Now there is always a reason to go back to Srinagar. Dont know when Kashmir will call once again. Dinner was another fun time to end the day. When Dheeraj ordered for Butter Milk from the menu at the same restaurant, he was served hot MILK with a dense layer of BUTTER suspended on it. We could not control laughter almost whole of next day. It went on to tease Dheeraj to try out various combo of Butter Milk in every restaurant that we hopped in. Also, when we ordered for a lime soda with salt, we were served a big bottle of soda and lemon and 4 glasses all separately Absolute fun!
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11. Day 8
25th August 2012: Srinagar to Gulmarg
It was a day trip to Gulmarg. Even though we had plans of moving into Pahalgam to catch up with Avinash, and had checked out our entire luggage, there was something else in the box for us the horse rides. After we reached Gulmarg, decided to spend half day in the pony ride till the Glacier on top and use the next half of the day to drive to Pahalgam. Had to negotiate cut throat to get a discount of Rs 100 for a pony ride to glacier top. We landed up spending Rs 1100 per pony. Pony ride for 4 hrs and at this gradient was a new experience to all of us. The other option for us was to take a cable car gonDOla ride till stage 2 and then walk till glacier. We decided on the pony as it would be a complete trip of all attractions at Gulmarg. We had kept our cameras ready to capture the breathtaking beauty of Gulmarg all through the Pony ride. As you keep on climbing the beauty of Gulmarg unfurled every moment, which one would surely like to cherish later on.
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Gulmarg (Meadow of Flowers) popular in winter as it is the SKIING capital of the country and also has nice landscape. On our way to Khilanmarg, we could see Indian Institute of Skiing & Mountaineering and shares its campus right in the centre of a British time 18 hole golf course. The next was the HAWS (High Altitude Warfare School). Climb up from here till Glacier was pretty treacherous on our thighs and calf muscles. We spent good time in photography on top of the glacier. We could see the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir peaks from the top of the glacier. Ride down till the base camp was a bumpy ride personified. At some places we were at a gradient of 35 40 Degrees where you repeatedly remember your favourite God.
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It is a heavenly place where many hindi movies are shot. The famous BOBBY movie song Hum tum ek kamare mein baandh ho and MISSION KASHMIR song bumro bumro and MANN movie and many more are shot in this beautiful location. As we came down we had to stretch for a while to come out of cramps. On our drive back, we were caught up in heavy rain; so, stopped at a Kashmiri Cloth Shop (who also runs his business at Brigade Road, Bangalore). Did some shopping before we stopped for our lunch at 5.00 PM! Avinash updated us that as he is pretty much early to Pahalgam, he would catch up with us at Srinagar. We decided to re route ourselves to Srinagar. As we met Avinash at our Hotel, it was time for him to share his experiences and adventure of driving via Kishatwar.
12. Day 9
26th August 2012: Srinagar to Kargil Route: Srinagar - Gandarbal (5249) Sonmarg (Alt 8694) ZOZI LA (11575) Drass (Alt 10170) - Kargil (Alt 8858)
Now the mission day!! The adventure begins. We started heading to dry and horrendous landscape - THE KARGIL. The morning was rainy and misty! We got up quickly and both the vehicles Swift and Scorpio started moving towards kargil. As the drive continued we started observing that the mountains were slowly getting drier and missing the devdar trees. We reached the Sonmarg and took a tea break for a few minutes and could see a large Indian Army base. Then, continued further towards ZOZILA. By the time we reached the ZOZILA the mountains were totally different! Barren and dry indicating that the Ladakh region is nearing. We started seeing Rock Mountains and dry mountains. The ZOZI LA pass is the deadly narrow steep mountain which separates the LADAKH region with Kashmir region. Once we finished the pass, we saw Baltal base camp. This is the place from where the Amaranth yatri will start their trekking. After we finished the ZOZILA we saw a board WELCOME TO LADAKH REGION. What else? Start clicking the pics in all directions with all styles!
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We then came across Zozila war memorial, Pandras war memorial and had a view of the TIGET HILL just before the DRASS town. Drass- known as the second coldest habitant place on the earth. We then moved to most awaited and eagerly planned Kargil war memorial. The memorial is just in front of the TOLOLING Mountain and we can also see TIGER HILL from here. The memorial has a huge wall on which there are names of all the brave heroes who fought for us during kargil war. It was a heartfelt moment for me to read all those names and salute the real heroes. The Indian Army has a message to all of us When you go back home, tell them that we gave our today for your tomorrow! Jhai Hind! My million salutes to the heroes who stood and standing for all of us.
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We continued our drive to reach Kargil in the evening around 7:30PM. Searched for a hotel near district hospital and just had something and slept like dead bodies another tiring day.
13. Day 10
27th August 2012: Kargil - Zanskar Valley Kargil
The morning was bright and sunny; we had planned to reach PADUM by end of the day, hat there and then start back to kargil next day. We filled the Jerry cans with extra fuel for both vehicles and Started towards zanskar valley. We drove a fine tar road for almost 50 kilometers. Everybody was happy and were enjoying the scenary and beauty of the nature and ride too. Stopped for a quick breakfast on the way and then started towards Parkachik. Slowly we observed that the road quality getting poor poor and more poor. We somehow managed to drive carefully through many of the ups and downs and bad roads until Parkachik. After parkachik, there were few stretches whever the co passengers were off loaded to reduce the car weight and clear the horrific roads at frequent places. When we reached the NUN glacier, we were struck by a complete rocky road of around 60-100mtrs. We thought it is impossible. The scoprio went through slowly and now its a challenge for the Swift Dezire!! We were still gazing on possibilities and Avinash came back from Scorpio and just cranked the engine and started coming on rocksweere like OMG!!! Where this guy (AVINASH) is take to!! and every time we told him NO NO its not possible it will touch the underbelly!!.. he use to tell Illaaraaaamagi barutte, touch agallaaaa!! and finally with difficulties he took the car to other end. THIS WAS THE ICE BREAKING POINT No looking back as delicate car, careful etc.
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We again started with more mental power and confidence. Drove 10 more kilometers and now came across a water crossing. A big deep enough to sink our full tyre!! By this time Avinash had crossed the level and went a bit ahead. So, we are along with desire and gazing on water levels. Suddenly we see a forign biker with his girlfriend came and entered the water to cross it and could not do it with the lady and asked lady to get off the like in half way and they th with lot of courage he drove out the bike. The bikes exhaust pipe was in water and 3/4 tyre or more was in water. We saw a TATA coming from the other side and observed on how it crosses. Based on that we had plans to cross it. But, the guy after crossing stopped and told us - aapka who kala scopriowala banda bola ki wapas Kargil jao, aage raaasta aur bhee kharaaab hai aur crossing bahot mushkil hai (Go back to kargil as the roads are still worse and is difficult to cross). Thats it END OF ZANSKAR valley for us. We returned back to Kargil from there. We drove back the entire 110KMS stretch and of course that rocky stretch was also a adventure to do it again. Saw few rock blastings on the way and back to Kargil and the same hotel.
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14. Day 11
28th August 2012: Kargil to Leh Route: Kargil (8858) Mulbek (10826) Hansikot (11925) - Fotu LA (13517) - Lamayuru (11482) Khaltsi (10269) Nimmu (10369) - Leh
We started the drive early morning around 7AM towards LEH, the day was bright sunny and scenic.
The mountains were different in appearance, many steep Rocky Mountains and suddenly getting changed to Sand Dune Mountains and so on. It was a nice landscape all the way until Khaltsi. We came across the FOTU LA pass this is the highest pass in Srinagar LEH route at a altitude of 13517Ft altitude. We saw a bunch of 20 plus forign bullet riders geared with all skinny leather jackets and all terrain wears. They were on a cross country ride. Many of them were Germans. We took few pics at this top and moved further to notice few cyclers!!! We stopped and had a chat with them. It was interesting to know that they all are from different country and met each other in Srinagar and they started they adventure together from LAMAYURU. It was a group of 5 people of which 3 ladies and 2 guys. One of the 3 ladies was the trip organize from LONDON. They were on a Himalayan cycling trip. Hats off to these people.
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On our way towards LAMAYURU we saw a nice scenery and few more bikers especially lady bikers rocking over the mountains. The LAMAYURU village is a nice place situated on a mountain edge. We came across the magnetic hills a spot just around 20Kms before LEH. This spot has a marking for parking our car to be parked in it. If parkedin neutral gear, it is expected that the car should more towards the slopy(down side) region of the road. But its surprising to see that it move on the uphill side. This phenomenon defies the gravity. We did not stress on applying logics and gyan to this but enjoyed the moments theroughly and then headed further. Just,10 kms before LEH, the road gets better and better and it goes very straight as long as you can see. Then it takes you to a plance where Zanskar and Indus valley meet. At last, we reached LEH, found a hotel Padmaling in Changspa road next to mission school and checked in for the night. WOW!
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15. Day 12
29th August 2012: Leh
We visited DC office for getting the Permits to Nubra valley, Hunder, Turtuk, Diskit, Hanle, Pangong tso, tso moriri. We gave our car for service and then returned back to hotel and took rest. Went out for window shopping and ended with few T-shirt.
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16. Day 13
30th August 2012: Leh
Avinash joins us after his PADUM drive. We had a local sigh seeing in LEH covering Leh Palace, Shanti Stupa, Shey Palace and Hemis Monastry situated after Karu village arounf 50 Kms from LEH. Not to miss out a repeated window shopping. All six of us went out for a restaurant and had a nice chilling weather and candle light dinner with lot of stories being exchanged and had good time.
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17. Day 14
31st August 2012: Leh to Tur tuk to Diskit Route: Leh (10500) KHARDUNGLA (18380) - KHALSAR - DISKIT (10310) - Hunder (14271) / NUBRA Valley THOISE - CHANGMAR - BUKDANG - Tur Tok (17608) - DISKIT(10310ft) After a nice sleep; we started the day with full energy and eagerness to climb the highest motor-able road in the world The KHARDUNG LA Started around 7AM with plans to have breakfast in Khardungla top. Slowly moved away from Leh and within few minutes we were ascending Khardungla (its 40kms from Leh town) took few photography stops on the way and finally reached the Khardungla top. Took a breakfast stop and had hot Maggie in the sunny chilling weather. Yes, it was though sunny; the temperature was around 4 degrees and was windy. We all were doubly covered with thermals/jackets. Took numerous clicks with Khardungla top board in various style . Though we could hardly find some snow over the Khardungla did not miss the chance and went into it and played for a while and then continued towards Hunder via diskit, THOISE. Hunder is a small desert area between the mountains. It was exciting for us to see a desert at such a high altitude of around 11,000ft. This desert has double hump camels which were once brought from Mangolia. We all were excited to take a camel ride in desert and went without giving a second thought on getting tanned into strong sun light. It was nice and unforgettable camel ride and at the end of the ride, we noticed that we were tanned due to strong sunlight.
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Further to our route, we traversed Nubra valley all the way with beautiful view of mountains, valley and plane landscapes and finally reached Turtuk. This is the last civilian allowed place; after which the Indian Army base is situated and the mountain just opposite is the POK. We had lunch in Turtuk around 4pm. We cpuld see few cute village kids who were staring us from a distance place. We shared few chocolate and pens with the kids and could notice the happiness on their face made them to run to their friends around and they brought the friends too to get their share of pens and chocolates. After lunch, we aimed to halt in Diskit and accordingly started towards Diskit. It was slowly getting dark and darker. So, headlights were on and we were all alone on the road between mountains and suddenly could hear a loud sound of helicopter; we started searching for it and finally could see is at a near distance. That was a military surveillance helicopter which was conducting infra-red surveillance on the mountain areas. As planned we took a night break in Olthang hotel at Diskit.
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18. Day 15
1st September 2012: Diskit to Leh Route: DISKIT (10310ft) - Khalsar - Agham - WARI LA - SHAKTI - CHANGLA (17590ft) - DURBUK TANGTSE (14500ft) - PANGONG TSO (14500ft) - CHANG LA - Karu - Leh
The day started very early for us as the plan was to have a really long straining drive till Pangong Lake and then aim for the night break back in LEH. The energy level of almost everybody was not up to the mark sue to less sleep on the previous day; hence few people slept during the travel until Pangong; however the photography geeks did not give up to force stop the cars at many spots. The day was not so easy for the drivers; as they were given with a challenge to climb and get down WARILA and CHAGLA passes and way back again CHANGLA. So, it was tightly timed with no tea/pea breaks.
We took a lunch break around noon and interestingly, In Sakthi; we met a Swiss citizen by name Chris who is on a road trip around the world on his bike (Yamaha 600cc) since May 2010! Yes you read it right. Chris is travelling the world since 2.5 years and has covered entire America, Europe, Russia, China, Japan, Australia and his next countries were Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and then his home country.
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Now comes the first view of the long waited Pangong Lake view. There is a milestone on road 4Kms before the lake which says First view of the world famous Pangong Lake. Yes, it is world famous due to its BLUE color of the water and also more interesting is the lake is spread across India and China. The 3 Idiots movie climax is shot in this spot and hence the lake got a huge presence worldwide.
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It was dream come true for many of us to stand in front of it and click as many as pics. After some time we started searching for the spot where the climax of 3 idiots was shot; we drove few kilometers further and could find the location. We spent few hours on the lake and finally started back our days marathon back to Leh and it was a non stop drive back to LEH still night 10pm. We out for quick dinner and back to our rooms. The next day was planned for TSO MORERI lake. Meanwhile, the Badari and me were also thinking on skipping the tso moreri lake as both lake look blue and only difference is the taste of water is salty in Pangong and its sweet in Tso moreri. Finally after a long pros and cons analysis, we decided to drive back to Bangalore via Rothang pass, manali Roopnagar. However, Scorpis had another thrilling adventure in plan. They planned Spiti valley and Agra too. Since it was again a tuff challenge for Dezire to do Spiti vally, we skipped the Spiti and planned to take home route.
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19. Day 16
2nd September 2012: LEH to Keylong Route: Leh - Karu - Upshi - Gya - RUMTSE (13451ft) - Tanglang LA (17585ft) - Debring- Moore Plains - Pang LACHULUNG LA (16470ft) - NAKI LA (15551ft)- Gata Loops (15302ft 14304ft) - Sarchu (13953ft) - Killing Sarai Baralacha LA (16056ft) - Suraj Tal - Karo - Patseo- Darcha(11154ft) - Gemur - Jispa - Stingiri - Keylong (10290ft) On the way cover Suraj Tal, Deepak Tal which are on the road sides only
Yes, Yet another long lonely drive began for DZrire from LEH around 7AM after our few good luck wishes to each other with Scorpio group, who were planned to stay that day in LEH and then move to Tso moreri, Hanle, Spiti and Agra. The plan was to halt at Sarchu; however we were driving to sarchu with the aim of Keylong halt. We were not sure on this ambitious challenge as we were suppose to drive Moore Planes, TANGLANG LA, NAKI LA, BARALACHA LA and also were given a challenge of crossing Ghata loops (21 hairpin bends). Everybody was silent in the car and Badari was high no not stopping anywhere for photography. He started the day and kept driving until he reached the TANGLANG LA (2nd highest motorable road on the earth). To our surprise, the road till Tanglang la was combination of nice broad tar road with few bad patches. We took a quick photo stop on the top and also experienced a snow fall for few minutes.
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As soon as we got down from the Tanglangla; there was a hint of beginning Moore Plains. Now, I was on wheels and as we started moving ahead; I noticed that there is absolutely no road ahead. It was a broad plane area spread across almost 30+ kilometers with hardly roads on it. The area is covered with loose soil. It was very confusing and unpredictable on which side to take. At many places we got out of car, walked for few distance to gaze and study the soil and road quality and came back and drove ahead. The view on both sides of the drive was awesome. As we finished the Moore plane drive, we reached the Pang where there is a Indian Army base camp is situated. We crossed it and moved to Ghata loops via Baralachala.
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When we were on top of Baralacha la; there was a TATA AREA fully loaded with luggages inside and on top came from opposite. They too stopped for photo stop. It was impressive to see a lady of average height or even we can say short hight getting down from driver seat. WOW!!. When we spoke to her her first sigh was hush!! My car is not pulling and I sense a bad diesel in the previous pump. We thought she dont know how to drive!! But he fact was different.let me explain as we moved further we were brought to Ghata Loops, a 21 sharp hairpin bend curves. For our good luck, we were descending and still I could sense difficulty to do so due to bad patches at few steep turns. Now, we realized what pain she would have experienced to CLIMP it. Hats off to the lady for her courage.
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Now we paused for lunch at Sarchu. Yes!! Our aim was to halt at Sarchu, but we were there by 4PM. So, why to waste time? Lets drive another 100Kms and halt in Keylong. This is planned to make out drive easy and stressless on the next day where there was a huge challenge of crossing Rothang pass through the deadly slush patches on our way.
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We continue driving without wasting time. Finally dried out and it was dark and we were much behind the Keylong. The road was not at all good and was very narrow and it was difficult to maneuver the car if there is a car or other vehicle from the front. Now we are in trouble!! As we were in a remote location without any clue on how is the road ahead. We reached a small village (10-12 houses) where there was a luck of having network. We called HVK and mainly wanted his suggestion on if we can stay in that village. We were stunned to the level of information and knowledge HVK has; he asked us about our exact location and they told us drive 1.5kms further and you will get a nice tar road and you can cruise till Keylong. Dont halt anywhere in between. We followed his instruction and could see a tar road after 1.5kms till Keylong. So, additional 30-40 min drive took us to Keylong. We found a descent hotel for a good price and closed the day. During dinner time we met a localite and asked him on the Rothang Pass road condition; his reply was Kyoun nahi sir! Aaj mein khud apne santro mein aya hun Manali se to aapka gadi to araaam se keechad par jayega, jayeeeye bindaas. This was boosting our energy throughout night.
20. Day 17
3rd September 2012: Keylong to Roopnagar Route: Keylong (10290ft) Rothang PASS (13050ft) Manali (6250ft) - Kulu Mandi Bilaspur - Swarghat Roopnagar
The previous night, HVK called us and hinted us to reach Rothang Pass ASAP in the morning, as the Rothang pass will get closed between 9am till 12 noon, so it is good if we cross before this time as the traffic will be less and there will be possibility of Army Jawans around for any help. HVK, also gave few slush driving tips and boosted our confidence. The day started at 5am. I was given the responsibility of clearing the Rothang Pass. We kept on driving non stop and reached Rothang pass around 8:30AM. There was fear and tension on our face as it is a horrendous challenge for all of us and we had no choice other than doing is successfully!!! ELSE, we need to do the reverse travel of entire trip the way we travelled from Hanumangarh. Though Badari was not at all in mood to stop for any photography spots, I forcefully stopped on top of Rothang pass and we took few clicks and then geared up to take on the slushy descent. We were told that the slush is on the descent and is almost for 2-3 kms. So, we were eagerly looking out for slush for initial 1-2 kms and could not see any slush, felt happy and thought its dried. But, here I come the Rani nala the big long stretch of slush which is 1 to 1.5 ft deep was infront of us. We all got down from car, walked towards the patch and studied the patch and also observed many big vehicles on how they area crossing it. Now, we made a strategy.Badari and Dheraj got out of car to reduce the car weight and also to assist me in finding path a few vintage points. The challenge begins all time in 1 st gear with constant acceleration and no high engine rev, I started moving through slush. The slush was dragging the car from its path, I hanged on to the wheels hard and could clear the Rani nala. Now comes the first smile on our faceYeah we can do rest of the slush patches too. In a same fashion and strategy we were able to cross all 5-6 patches of slush for around 2-3 kilometers.
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At one turn a biker saw KA 05 passing and immediately started shouting Bangalore Bangalore.. we stopped and noticed that he was also a Bangalorian. We spent few minutes with him and exchanged of experiences as he was on day 1 of his trip to Ladakh from Manali side. We celebrated or success with double peth breakfast on the mountain in a dhaba and drove towards Roopnagar via Manali, Kullu, Mandi and Swar ghat and reached the Roopnagar around 89pm and halted in Badaris sisters house. We had south Indian food after a long time of our trip and it was a nice homely experience for all of us. We all had a nice chat with Badaris sister, jiju and Bharat for a long time in the night.
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21. Day 18 and 19

4th and 5th September 2012: Roopnagar to Mumbai Route: Roopnagar - Ludhiana Moga Faridkot Kotkapur- Sri Muktasar Sahib Abohar hanumangarh Rawatsar Sardarshahar Ratangargh Sujangarh Ajmer Bhilwara- Chittorgarh - Udaipur - Chittorgarh Udaipur Himmatnagar Ahmedabad Baroda Surat Thane - Mumbai Pune
Plan was to start next day morning around 7AM from Roopnagar. But, it took a lazy start for all of us and we started around 12 in the noon. Here onwards it was nonstop marathon until Mumbai. Our plan was to meet HVK on our way back, so when we called HVK to check if we can meet him!!! He was very happy and he would love to meet us and share our experiences. He was more excited to meet us as compared to we people. He was waiting for us on the Thane (Godhbandar) main road along with Rajnish Nair. We all went in search of a chat shop at night 10:30pm and could not find any!! Finally dropped into a Punjabi hotel and had dinner and spend memorable time with HVK. After dinner HVK took us until Mumbai Pune Express highway link road. Now, we are back on marathom run. But all were so tired and the dinner was so heavy! We took a sleep break on the highway road side near a petrol pump and slept.
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22. Day 20
6 September 2012: Pune Bangalore
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Drove nonstop to Bangalore and reached our homo around 7.30pm. Our families were eagerly waiting for our return. As soon as we reached the building basement, all were excited to see us. They were also shocked to see us in totally tanned and exhausted state. The car was totally dirty and the writing what we made in the dirt caught their attention and they started taking full circle of the car in reading all the writings and it went on for few minutes and ended with a explicit writing from Badaris daughter saying - The car is too dirty, you 3 need to wash it immediately. The overall trip odometer was around 10,000Kms from the day 1 till day 20 of our LADAKH EXPEDITION 2012.
23.
Maps of LADAKH Region, J&K
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24.
Trip summary
Ladakh Expedition duration= 20 Days

STATES 1 Maharashtra 2 Gujarat 3 Rajasthan 4 Haryana/Delhi 5 Karnataka 6 Punjab 7 Jammu & Kashmir 8 Himachal Pradesh 9 Karnataka HIGHWAYS Bombay-Baroda/AhmedabadNH 8 Udaipur/Kishangarh NE 1 Baroda-Ahmedabad NH 76 Udaipur-Chittorgarh NH 79 Chittorgarh-Kishangarh NH 1A Udhampur-Srinagar NH 1D Kargil-Leh NH 22 Sumdo-Ambala NH4 Bangalore - Pune
Total Distance travelled = 10,000Kms (Approx)

PASSES Zozi La Namika La Fotu la Khardung la Wari La Chang la Tanglang la Lachulung la Naki la Baralacha la Kunzum la Rothang la Approx. EXPENSES Food Lodge Petrol Toll General+car care TOTAL TRIP COST FEET 11,623 12,613 13,521 18,380 17,440 17,667 17585 16,675 16,231 16,152 14,952 12,975 INR 25,000 15,000 40,000 12,000 10,000 1,02,000 RIVERS GJ Tapi GJ Narmada PB Ravi JK Chenab JK Hind JK Dras JK Suru JK Zanskar JK Indus JK Shayok JK HP HP HP KA KA KA Tsarap chu Bhaga Chandra Sutlej Ghataprabha bhadra Hiranyakeshi
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Ladakh and travel help sources
1) 2) 3) 4)
HV Kumar and his fans forum @ https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/hvkumar/ www.team-bhp.com www.devilonwheels.com Friends and other experts
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26.
The team on mission!!!
Thank you for showing your interest in reading this travelogue!!
- Satish Bandi
Satish.bandi@gmail.com
Disclaimer: This travelogue is an attempt to give a short picture and idea of the Ladakh region J&K. The data is compiled as per the information based on my experience, inputs from experts, few sites and other blogs. Hence, Genuinity of data is not certified here.
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Ladakh Expedition 2012

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Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

Whats in this TRAVELOGUE?

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

How did it start!

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

Code of Conducts during trip.

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

4. The kick off day! Day 1

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012

- Travelogue by: Satish Bandi

Pursuit of happiness 2012