The drudgeries of life
Saturday, August 29, 2009
The Dream Trip: Days 6 and 7 - Enchanting Nubraaaa - Part 2
Before I begin, I'd like to apologize for the delay... getting a bit caught up in life ;)
This post is all about the Second Part of our visit to Nubra... August 16, 2009, or Day 7 as we know it!
Ever had such an experience of waking up in the morning:
When as soon as your eyes open, your mind's blank and you feel totally fresh, not a bother in the world; and then before you can even start worrying about worldly problems, the scene outside the room window keeps you mesmerized for a while; then you go into the bathroom wondering about how beautiful the sight was and you feel so cheerful; there are no newspapers to inform you about the sad happenings around the world (let's face it more often then not, news is depressing... be it murders, theft, inflation, pollution, global warming, scandals et al); the breakfast is so damn good that the start of your day couldn't have been on a better note!
Well getting up that day in Sumur village was ditto like this :)
I got up at 5:30 AM, brushed, had a wash and got dressed quickly... tea felt awesome in the early morning cold! Brrr
Walking outside the room, I was filled with sheer pleasure at seeing the surroundings: beautiful gardens with colorful flowers; apple trees with loads of apples hanging on; and the nearby mountains.
Felt obliged to click lots of pics ;)
Try and count the number of colors you see in this pic!
Yonder the woods lie the hills...
Us with the apples in the bageecha!
Pinky!
And they were all yellow.... ♥
Fool khile hain gulshan gulshan :P
After settling our bill, we left for Deskit. The view along the way kept us hypnotized... and I kept clicking :) Best fun was hanging out of the car's window and taking some photographs!
The sand dunes looked awesome in the morning light.
Sand dunes!
The camel rides which was the main attraction didn't start till 9 AM, so we killed time till then... not a difficult task given everyone's obsession with getting their photographs taken :D
Deserted :D
Oh well! So what if no camels? Board ke saath photo :P
At 9 AM sharp, the camels, steered by their masters, emerged out of the trees. Randy opted out of the camel ride, but the remaining were totally keen on it... kids, I tell you!
The ride per se was one helluva experience!
Sid's camel led the way, followed by Mine, Chandu's, Zulfi's and finally the eternal follower Rusti's camel :P
Total fun interspersed with scary moments. For instance, Zulfi's camel going time and again for Chandu's foot, probably thinking of it as fodder :P Chandu looked up only once or twice during the entire ride... his attention was focused on where Zulfi's camel's mouth was :P
In addition to that, our guide kept adding masala by warning us about the camels going wild if someone makes lots of noise or distracting movements!
Well it wasn't a very smooth ride, but it did seem as if we glided through the desert... no wonder the camels are called "The ships of the desert".
All in all, this was an awesome and thrilling experience!
All aboard the ships of the deserts!
Chandu keeping an eye, rather both his eyes on Zulfi's hungry camel :P
Had dosas at a place which claimed to be the best food joint on the highway. Either it was the only canteen on the highway or it was unaware about competition, because it's food sucked bad. Anyway we had dosas and coffee... kept a stock of biscuits and chocolates for the drive.
It was 10 AM, and almost everyone was keen on heading back to Leh. Zulfi was more than keen to return as it was his birthday, and undoubtedly he was expecting calls from his loved ones :P But somehow we ended up at Deskit's centuries old monastery!
The place was nice, a must visit for serious tourists. A monk accompanied us as a guide and he gave us lots of information about the place! Won't spoil the fun by typing out the history here... go figure it out for yourself ;)
All 6 of us at Deskit Monastery
A top view... breathtaking!
What a backdrop!
While purchasing some souvenirs outside the monastery, found a couple of cute Tibetan kids (a girl aged 2 years, and her elder brother, aged 7)... Sid and I pampered the kids with chocolates, and also got a few pictures taken with them :)
Awww cho chuweet :)
A tanned me with the cute kiddies :)Next part of the journey was like the breeze! We raced back to Leh.
Noticed the crazy clouds that seemed ready to burst open any minute, and the fresh snow all around! No wonder it was so cold in Sumur! Also witnessed a cyclone!
The sky was falling... or so I thought!
The road leads into that hill, just like in Ali Baba's tale...
No, I'm just kidding you :P
Despite that being an accident-prone zone, we were shocked to see 2 massive road clearing machines that had fallen off the cliff :o
Witnessed snowfall for the second time in my life (first was earlier in the year at Solang, Manali). It was snowing when we passed Khardung La.
Riders on the storm
Raced home singing songs, doing bakar, and pulling each others' legs! :P
Most memorable parts of the journey were the raging bulls, and those huge army trucks on the hilly roads looking like tiny ants climbing up an ant hill!
Watching this bull go berserk was a treat!
Ants on an anthill?
Army trucks on a hill
By 3:45 PM, we had reached Leh. Checked out the fort in broad daylight this time :)
Us at the fort with Leh in the background :)
Everyone was starving, so had our heaviest lunch at Bon Appetit... nothing was wasted out of the 16 rotis, 9 naans, 2 plates of butter chicken, chicken chilly, dum aloo, mixed veg, rice, tea! And surprisingly the bill came to only Rs. 750 for six people! Did I hear you say "Nominal"? :)
Got our "We got Leh'd tees"! Yippee!!
This says it all... the journey till now :D
Returned to our guest house, bathed, and talked to the landlady who was brimming with questions on Nubra Valley :)
Too much distance from technology wasn't good so, to get back on track, we watched the movie "The Shooter".
Guru talked to us about reducing our expenses on the vehicle rent and all... right from the onset we knew he was a crooked character, but now he wants to take us into deeper shit. We had a long talk with him.
Back on familiar terrain, we were at Penguin's Bakery soon enough :D
Surfed the net for 2 whole hours and uploaded some pics on facebook... from the comments that started pouring in, sure looked like people's expectations from this trip were high!
That was End of Day!
Tomorrow is probably the biggest day of the trip... rafting on the crazy Zanskar river, and, if we survive (:P), move on to Kargil!! Adventure pe adventure, if you please...
50% of the trip is over! Let the remaining half be loads of fun too. Amen.
Next up (on Sunday, Jan 17):
The Dream Trip: Day 8 - Conquering the Mighty Zanskar!
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Labels: Bon Appetit, camel ride, Deskit, Dream Trip, Leh, Leh Fort, Monastery, Nubra, sand dune, Vacation, Zanskar
Friday, August 28, 2009
The Dream Trip: Day 4 - Exploring the pLEHces!
August 13, 2009... The day we got totally Leh'd, also fresh in our memories as Day 4!
I seldom have dreamless sleeps... today was one of those rare occasions!
Don't know about the others, but I slept like a dead man... thankfully I woke up!
Given that today was a rest day, I woke up at 9 AM... now this felt like being on a vacation :P
Chandu was up and about... got his call that he was at the local Monastery where the Dalai Lama had made an appearance! Chandu, the lucky bugger, actually caught more than a few glimpses of His Holiness... a video of which he showed off on returning! Nothing was visible in the video though :P
Yesterday at Sarchu, forget bathing, even washing the face seemed to be out of the question... today everyone had a good bath!
Early birds that we were, Chandu and I got ready first and left for breakfast (round 1). Had heard a lot about German Bakery, so searched for it and found it after a bit of asking around!
Had an Apple pie, chocolate brownie and a cuppa tea... but anything and everything in the Penguin Restaurant - German Bakery was a visual delight!
We had read in blogs that visiting Pangong Tso and Nubra Valley required passes. We inquired about the passes and were informed that we might not get passes for 3 days (courtesy a possible strike today, i.e. Aug 13, and the next two days making up a weekend!)
Shucks! If we don't get the passes today, then the entire trip is screwed... no visit to the famous Pangong Lake and Nubra Valley :(
Joined Randy and Sid at a restaurant called Bon Appetit... the first of our many visits there!
Chandu and I shared a Bon Special B'fast (round 2 of our breakfast!) - a combo made up of eggs, some shake, Yak milk cheese tomato burger (Yak cheese?!), potatoes et al! It was pretty good! Also tasted the paranthas the others had ordered! Manish and Rusti arrived soon, and it was time for breakfast round 3 :P
A must visit place when in Leh! :D
Rusti and Manish at b'fast!
We decided to pay an agent to get us the much needed passes ASAP. For 7 of us, Guru included, the passes plus commission of the agent cost us 800 bucks for 3 days (1 day in Pangong and 2 days in Nubra).
Leh Fort as seen from Fort Road
Snake Charmers?! More like Foreigner Charmers!!
Shopped for t-shirts on Fort Road... loved one shop with hand embroidered tees! Fell in love with a "How I got Leh'd" t-shirt... 4 of us promptly booked it, and suggested a few alterations to the tee!
A haat in the middle of Leh
Back at the room, Sid didn't seem to be in much of a good mood, and it kinda upset everyone! Looking back, I feel it added a little bit of spice to the trip :P But then, it wasn't much... just a few disagreements over the jam-packed trip schedule and lack of rest...
Anyway, I guess we were a bit loud in our arguments which brought out our landlord, an old grandpa figure, to check on us... our first encounter with Mr. Lobzing!
The kind old man (Any takes on this, Randy?!) offered to make us tea, and we obliged! The tea was pretty good!
Mr. Lobzing, our landlord :)
I talked to Mr. Lobzing in his drawing room and it felt great... this guest house was his and his wife's home... they rented out a few rooms to tourists like us.
I still remember last night's dialogue when we were bargaining for lessening the room rents here:
Us: Please rent kam kar dijiye... kaafi zyaada hai! (Please lessen the rent... it is too expensive)
Agent: Sir, hum Buddhists hain... hum galat rate kabhi nahin lagayenge (Sir, we're Buddhists... we'll never charge you anything extra)
And that sealed it... :)
Next we visited Soma Gompa, a monastery in the maketplace, the same place that the Dalai Lama had visited earlier in the day!
After spending a considerable amount of time in the Gompa, we visited Shey Palace on the outskirts of Leh. It was mostly in ruins, but then if one wanted, climbing to the peak was possible... Chandu, Sid and I wanted just that!
Drivers' delight - the road to Shey Palace
Ganged up at the base of Shey Palace!
We raced up to the peak, and the 360 degree view of the entire countryside from up there was magnificent!
After: Sid (partially hidden), Chandu, and I after the climb!
Victory was ours!
Rusti, Manish, and Randy chose to stay behind...
Shadow dance!!
Shey Palace is also the place where Manish - who had the guts to wash his hair at Sarchu, and at almost every other place we visited - got his new name, Zulfi :D
Introducing Zulfi!
Returned to Leh and savored a late yet appetizing lunch at Bon Appetit. And the variety we ordered: Pasta for Rusti; Thukpas for Randy and Chandu; Chicken Masala and Paranthas for Zulfi and I!
The expression says it all!
Visual delight!!
Post lunch, we collected our passes (yesss! We got them!) and felt great that our trip goes ahead as planned.
A lovely pair, no?! ;)
Next stop: Shanti Stupa, a famous monument in a serene and peaceful setting! It is situated in Changspa, a village near Leh, and the drive till there was wonderful.
Randy's inquiring for ShanCHi Stupa was hilarious... at least someone's command over Hindi is worse than mine :P
Notice where Shanti Stupa is located :)
We had read that both, Shanti Stupa and Leh Palace were places worth visiting during sunset... we sadly had to choose between the two, and the former won!
Sid and Randy by the Stupa
So here we were, at the beautiful Stupa built atop a hill which allowed a bird's eye view of Leh! Waiting till after sunset, clicking pics and all, before returning to Leh.
That's Leh for you!
It was dark by the time we returned to Leh and, on a combined whim, we headed for Leh Palace. It was 8 PM then!
Sid's inquiries from the pedestrians for directions to Leh PaRlace, and his consequent arguments about the word being PaRlace and not Palace were awesome takeaways :P
Next up, Rusti's turn to give us a good laugh: Told to ask the pedestrians for directions, Rusti poked his head out of the window and loudly proclaimed "Bhaiyya!!", and when he realized that not a single pedestrian was in sight, he started searching for the imaginative "Bhaiyya" :P
Ok it was darkk (notice the emphasis!) when we reached Leh Palace. Luckily the front door was open, and using our phone lights we walked straight into the darkness. *shivers*
In one of the dark dungeons!
I kid you not, it was scary as hell :O Walked around a bit before the caretakers discovered us... they were good enough to show us around a bit despite it being well past the closing time! An adventure of sorts akin to old Enid Blyton novels :D
Leh at night... as seen from the Fort
Back in the Leh market, Chandu and I (the foodies too, in addition to the early birds!) raced back to German Bakery for cookies and tea. Vaibhav too joined us this time.
For all those interested, there's a bar (might be more) in Leh market... Zulfi and Sid had beer there.
Yet another must visit place when in Leh :D
As if driven by an invisible force, we were back at Bon Appetit for dinner. The order we gave was huge, and it took 1 hour to get prepared and served!
Chandu and I had Napoleon Pasta; Zulfi, Randy and Sid had mix veg, dal, rotis... Rusti, already stuffed from the German Bakery visit, had a simple juice. Bakar ruled and we had loads of fun discussing lots of things...
Back at our rooms, we planned to a round trip to Pangong for the Day 5, and Nubra for 2 days starting the day after tomorrow! So, an early start at 4:30 AM was called for tomorrow.
The daily routine of transferring pics to the laptop before freshening up, packing for the next day, before hitting the sack.
Yet another purrfect day *touched wood again* :)
Hoping for more fun tomorrow at Pangong!
One thing we learnt the next day: Better be careful about what you hope for... someone up there might be listening :P
Next up (late on Sunday, Jan 10... comon I need a weekend break :p):
The Dream Trip: Day 5: Adventure Unlimited, courtesy Pangong Tso
P.S.: An earnest Request - If you liked this post, please share it on
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Labels: Bon Appetit, Day 4, Dream Trip, Leh, Leh Fort, Leh Palace, Shanti Stupa, Shey Palace
