The Leh'd Page!
I was trying to put off the hangover of an amazing trip by reading newspapers this morning and found this quote there coincidentally, "The World is a book and those who do not travel read only one page."-Augustine of Hippo. And I could not control myself from sharing that page that I read over past fifteen days.
Me with my friends and family began this journey to one of the most beautiful places in the World called Jammu and Kashmir. And our major destination was the land of mountains, the lap of Himalayas Leh Ladakh! And you enjoy the beauty of this land in a true sense when you travel in a tough way. Our journey from Goa to Delhi and then Delhi to Jammu was by rail. But the real journey began when we travelled by the tourists travelers provided by Take a Break agency which began from Jammu. The climate and terrain changed as we traveled through those stunningly beautiful yet very dangerous roads and Ghats. After this ten hour journey we reached a freezing valley of Sonamarg. Because we reached late at night very tired after the journey we could not make out the surroundings. And we slept shivering thinking whether we will be able to sustain this cold climate. Thanks to the heaters from the Glacier Heights hotel which warmed us a little for the night. Next morning was our first close encounter with the most awaited gift of nature- snow!! And the journey that we took from Sonamarg to Leh was like walking through the snow! On our way we waited, touched and even ate the snow. Splendid experience that was!!
We spent five days at Leh. We stayed in a very nice hotel called 'Jigmet Guest House' which served us very well and gave that homely feeling. But then its not a good sign when everything is good. There were hurdles in the journey. Each day one member fell sick or could not adjust with the weather. But everyone of us had that super will power which made us get up every morning, pop up any kinds of pills or medicines that are available and go to explore Leh. The Buddhists Monasteries where we experienced the spirituality, the Hall of Fame a museum where we saw life of Ladakh and sacrifices of the Military people. The Sangam of Zhanskar and Indus rivers where we saw the beautiful shades of blues, where we clicked photographs with jumps and where we skipped rafting comparing it with our ferry boats in Goa.
But what I will never forget about Leh is the Khardung La Pass, the highest motor-able road of the World which is 18, 000 ft above sea level. And we screamed and howled as we traveled with our Sarathi 'Soso', the guy who drove like a superhero on those risky roads. The real moment was when we actually touched the highest point. Indeed it was freezing cold, definitely there was lack of oxygen but what kept us strong was the togetherness and the whole excitement of being there and playing with the snow.
On our last day at Leh we visited the Pan-gong lake, the famous three idiots lake which could have taken us to China as the half part of the lake is with the neighbors. But we skipped that adventure and carried on with our cool journey. While returning from Leh we visited the Kargil memorial which was indeed a proud moment. To stand on the place where our brave soldiers led their lives in 'Operation Vijay' for the nation in the year 1999 was another moment that I shall never forget.
The last destination of this tour was a lesser cold region Shrinagar where we experienced the luxury of living in houseboats and moving in Shikaras and the beautiful gardens. This was something less adventurous than the Leh'ing part! But then everything of this tour was worth it. Completely! From the people we met, the photographs we clicked, the sickness that we had, the two three layers of clothes that we wore, the shopping that we did, the good bad food that we ate, the Goan dried fish on which we survived, the places where we stayed..almost everything was indeed an experience in itself that will be treasured and cherished forever and ever.
Going back to the quote that I mentioned in the beginning, I would say that the page that I read this May was a page that taught me that life is all about warmth and cold, take both, enjoy both, that makes it worth living! Cheers to Leh Ladakh and Life in all!!
We spent five days at Leh. We stayed in a very nice hotel called 'Jigmet Guest House' which served us very well and gave that homely feeling. But then its not a good sign when everything is good. There were hurdles in the journey. Each day one member fell sick or could not adjust with the weather. But everyone of us had that super will power which made us get up every morning, pop up any kinds of pills or medicines that are available and go to explore Leh. The Buddhists Monasteries where we experienced the spirituality, the Hall of Fame a museum where we saw life of Ladakh and sacrifices of the Military people. The Sangam of Zhanskar and Indus rivers where we saw the beautiful shades of blues, where we clicked photographs with jumps and where we skipped rafting comparing it with our ferry boats in Goa.
But what I will never forget about Leh is the Khardung La Pass, the highest motor-able road of the World which is 18, 000 ft above sea level. And we screamed and howled as we traveled with our Sarathi 'Soso', the guy who drove like a superhero on those risky roads. The real moment was when we actually touched the highest point. Indeed it was freezing cold, definitely there was lack of oxygen but what kept us strong was the togetherness and the whole excitement of being there and playing with the snow.
On our last day at Leh we visited the Pan-gong lake, the famous three idiots lake which could have taken us to China as the half part of the lake is with the neighbors. But we skipped that adventure and carried on with our cool journey. While returning from Leh we visited the Kargil memorial which was indeed a proud moment. To stand on the place where our brave soldiers led their lives in 'Operation Vijay' for the nation in the year 1999 was another moment that I shall never forget.
The last destination of this tour was a lesser cold region Shrinagar where we experienced the luxury of living in houseboats and moving in Shikaras and the beautiful gardens. This was something less adventurous than the Leh'ing part! But then everything of this tour was worth it. Completely! From the people we met, the photographs we clicked, the sickness that we had, the two three layers of clothes that we wore, the shopping that we did, the good bad food that we ate, the Goan dried fish on which we survived, the places where we stayed..almost everything was indeed an experience in itself that will be treasured and cherished forever and ever.
Going back to the quote that I mentioned in the beginning, I would say that the page that I read this May was a page that taught me that life is all about warmth and cold, take both, enjoy both, that makes it worth living! Cheers to Leh Ladakh and Life in all!!
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