Day 9 & 10 - The End of the Journey - Ladakh 2013!
Our trip was now coming to an end. Months of planning and re-planning, and this was it, the final day of the trip. Tomorrow we leave back for Delhi. But, before that - we still had one day left. The plan for today was to relax, roam around in the local market, get some souvenirs and Pashminas for the ladies back home :)
The day began leisurely with some delicious Masala Cheese Omelette and hot tea! Arun and Bhavna decided not to have the breakfast at the guest house. So, we wandered out and started searching for some good breakfast options. After, a little search we zeroed in on a restaurant and got over with the breakfast quickly.
Up ahead was shopping! Probably the toughest job a guy can be asked to do. And, if you are in the market for ladies stuff, be prepared to get totally confused. We thankfully had two ladies with us, who helped us select the Pashmina shawl and in the end we zeroed in on a shop from where we together bought around 10 Pashmina Shawls and Stoles. :D
Surprisingly, we finished our shopping for the day quite quickly. While some of us visited a few more shops, street photography was resorted to pass the time while idling outside :D
Soon, it was time for lunch. And, after completing our lunch at a local restaurant we we were almost done for the day. Some more souvenir shopping by the ladies and around 4 PM we were practically done for our plan for the day. We had decided a few days back that the last night in Leh had to be Legen-wait-for-it-dary! No one was supposed to sleep for the whole night. And, to aid us in that would be some Scotch for company :) We had largely avoided alcohol for the complete trip, and tonight was supposed to make up for that. So, before going back to the Guest house we visited the local Alcohol retailer and got the stock for the night. It was around 5:30 now.
After keeping the stuff in the guest house, I wanted to visit the Local Gurdwara in Leh. So, while others went for Chakhna shopping I went to the Gurdwara. I wanted to visit Gurdwara Datun Sahib, but I guess this Gurdwara was not the same. It was inside the city in the market. No one else around knew of where Gurdwara Datun Sahib was, and even this Gurdwara was locked out and there were no sewadars there at that time whom I could ask. I just opened the door myself, payed my respect, clicked some pics and was back!
There was a Mandir too next to the gurdwara but it was locked, so I couldn't go inside or click any pics.
And, another random click from the streets of Leh -
All done, this was it! Up next was an all nighter! We all sat in the room, with all the stuff decked up in our room and ordered Bhagirath to bring food and some masala papads :D But, before we began we had to settle all our bills and have taxi tot he airport arranged for us in the morning. Sikander, our trip advisor for the complete Ladakh trip was given the duty to get us a cab in the morning at 5:30 AM. After, the dinner was ordered, the bill at the guest house was also settled.
All done and we began with dumb-charades. The night was long, but we had adequate stock for the night :) A small Peg for Bhagirath, and we got some complimentary Masala Papads :p Dumb charades as usual was fun, and entertaining. Around, 4 AM we finally managed to finish all our stuff.
Even though the original plan was to not sleep for the whole night, people got a little tired and Dumb Charades eventually got boring. So, one by one everybody went to their respective rooms to get some sleep before waking up. With alarms set, we all got up one by one.
We had booked a Xylo for the Airport drop, but the Xylo did not come and Sikander got a Omni Van. No point in cribbing for the short drive, we stuffed the Xylo with our stuff and off we were to the Airport.
A final good bye pic of the Lawn of the guest house(one of the very few pics of the City Heart Guest House I have with me).
A short journey of about 10 minutes and we were at the Airport. Arun and Bhawna were in the Jet flight, and Me, Amitesh, Rohit and Nidhi were in the Air India flight. So, we all bid a good bye to Arun and Bhavna. Theirs was a direct flight to Delhi. From where, Bhavna was supposed to get a flight to Pune after short stop over of about 2-3 hours. Whereas, ours was a slightly tougher iternary :( We had a stop over at the Jammu Airport for about 6 hours :( This 6 hours which we later realized were the tougest 6 hours of our complete journey. Jammu was humid, and hot. And, to add to that the Jammu airport is nothing to talk home about. It was probably smaller than Delhi's Kashmere gate ISBT. Nonetheless, we somehow managed to pass our time there. We went to the city, had some Cholle Bhatures and Paranthas for breakfast at a restaurant and took a taxi back to the Airport. Carrying all our luggage along with us was not helping our cause. Plus, we were denied entry into the Airport as it was still some time left for our flight, and had to sit outside in the hot waiting Area for visitors.
Beginning to take off at the Leh Airport! (The Air force Plane in the foreground)
Its amazing how they have managed to build an Air Base at such a height and in such unforgiving terrain.
At, 3:45 PM we took off from the Jammu airport, and at 5 PM we were at IGI Airport at Delhi. It was such a relief seeing the T3 after the tiny airports of Leh and Jammu :p After 10 days of curvy roads, heights in excess of 10,000 ft, lack of oxygen - we were finally back in the Plains, all tanned and tired. Straight roads, traffic jams, pollution, the maddening rush hour traffic - we were back in Delhi. And, we were greeted with rains :)
My brother was there to pick me up from the Airport, Amitesh's brother was there to pick him up and Rohit and Nidhi too went their ways. The Legendary Journey had finally ended. While writing this, I still get goosebumps thinking about the moment when I left the T3 to go home. A Journey which was almost cancelled a few weeks before it began, the furious rain gods lashing their fury in Uttarakhand and showing us all who is the boss, we had managed to complete this trip against all odds. And, Kudos to everyone who stuck there till the end.
I know, this may not have been an ideal Journey, for I always wished to drive there on my own, but nonetheless I will treat this as an experience for whenever I go back to the Land of Ladakh. And, I am going back again for sure. I know there are people who scoff at us saying - "Oh, wahaan to bike pe jaana banta hai.". Yes, guys you are right - Ladakh Bike pe hee jaana banta hai, but pehle ek baar khud ho aao, tab yeh bolna banta hai :) I too would probably have driven there myself, but .... ahh leave it, no excuses. One thing is for sure, whenever I go next it would be on my own car with me at the wheel :) I don't know when that next time would be, but there would be a next time for sure - such is the beauty of this place. It will leave you mesmerized and humbled.
I have said this earlier too, but would like to say that again - BRO and the Armed Forces already had our respect, but what this journey had done is increase that respect manifolds. Places where even surviving is a challenge in itself, these guys fight and build roads. And, at some places these roads can put to shame the PWD of our National capital.
So, guys this would be the end of the travelogue. It isn't easy writing a travelogue as I found out. You have to relive each day, each moment again. This is the first time I am writing one, and have understood how tough it is to write one. I know, this may not have been the perfect travelogue and I would not have been able to do justice to the beauty of the place with the clicks or the narrative. Ladakh is something you have to see to believe. And, in the end thanks to the numerous travelogues I read on various forums and the people who took the pains to write them covering the minutest of details telling what to expect in this awe-inspiring journey.
And, finally - the people who were there -
Rohit:
Nidhi -
Amitesh -
Arun -
Bhavna -
And, last but not the least - Me :)
The day began leisurely with some delicious Masala Cheese Omelette and hot tea! Arun and Bhavna decided not to have the breakfast at the guest house. So, we wandered out and started searching for some good breakfast options. After, a little search we zeroed in on a restaurant and got over with the breakfast quickly.
Up ahead was shopping! Probably the toughest job a guy can be asked to do. And, if you are in the market for ladies stuff, be prepared to get totally confused. We thankfully had two ladies with us, who helped us select the Pashmina shawl and in the end we zeroed in on a shop from where we together bought around 10 Pashmina Shawls and Stoles. :D
Surprisingly, we finished our shopping for the day quite quickly. While some of us visited a few more shops, street photography was resorted to pass the time while idling outside :D
Soon, it was time for lunch. And, after completing our lunch at a local restaurant we we were almost done for the day. Some more souvenir shopping by the ladies and around 4 PM we were practically done for our plan for the day. We had decided a few days back that the last night in Leh had to be Legen-wait-for-it-dary! No one was supposed to sleep for the whole night. And, to aid us in that would be some Scotch for company :) We had largely avoided alcohol for the complete trip, and tonight was supposed to make up for that. So, before going back to the Guest house we visited the local Alcohol retailer and got the stock for the night. It was around 5:30 now.
After keeping the stuff in the guest house, I wanted to visit the Local Gurdwara in Leh. So, while others went for Chakhna shopping I went to the Gurdwara. I wanted to visit Gurdwara Datun Sahib, but I guess this Gurdwara was not the same. It was inside the city in the market. No one else around knew of where Gurdwara Datun Sahib was, and even this Gurdwara was locked out and there were no sewadars there at that time whom I could ask. I just opened the door myself, payed my respect, clicked some pics and was back!
There was a Mandir too next to the gurdwara but it was locked, so I couldn't go inside or click any pics.
And, another random click from the streets of Leh -
All done, this was it! Up next was an all nighter! We all sat in the room, with all the stuff decked up in our room and ordered Bhagirath to bring food and some masala papads :D But, before we began we had to settle all our bills and have taxi tot he airport arranged for us in the morning. Sikander, our trip advisor for the complete Ladakh trip was given the duty to get us a cab in the morning at 5:30 AM. After, the dinner was ordered, the bill at the guest house was also settled.
All done and we began with dumb-charades. The night was long, but we had adequate stock for the night :) A small Peg for Bhagirath, and we got some complimentary Masala Papads :p Dumb charades as usual was fun, and entertaining. Around, 4 AM we finally managed to finish all our stuff.
Even though the original plan was to not sleep for the whole night, people got a little tired and Dumb Charades eventually got boring. So, one by one everybody went to their respective rooms to get some sleep before waking up. With alarms set, we all got up one by one.
We had booked a Xylo for the Airport drop, but the Xylo did not come and Sikander got a Omni Van. No point in cribbing for the short drive, we stuffed the Xylo with our stuff and off we were to the Airport.
A final good bye pic of the Lawn of the guest house(one of the very few pics of the City Heart Guest House I have with me).
A short journey of about 10 minutes and we were at the Airport. Arun and Bhawna were in the Jet flight, and Me, Amitesh, Rohit and Nidhi were in the Air India flight. So, we all bid a good bye to Arun and Bhavna. Theirs was a direct flight to Delhi. From where, Bhavna was supposed to get a flight to Pune after short stop over of about 2-3 hours. Whereas, ours was a slightly tougher iternary :( We had a stop over at the Jammu Airport for about 6 hours :( This 6 hours which we later realized were the tougest 6 hours of our complete journey. Jammu was humid, and hot. And, to add to that the Jammu airport is nothing to talk home about. It was probably smaller than Delhi's Kashmere gate ISBT. Nonetheless, we somehow managed to pass our time there. We went to the city, had some Cholle Bhatures and Paranthas for breakfast at a restaurant and took a taxi back to the Airport. Carrying all our luggage along with us was not helping our cause. Plus, we were denied entry into the Airport as it was still some time left for our flight, and had to sit outside in the hot waiting Area for visitors.
Beginning to take off at the Leh Airport! (The Air force Plane in the foreground)
Its amazing how they have managed to build an Air Base at such a height and in such unforgiving terrain.
At, 3:45 PM we took off from the Jammu airport, and at 5 PM we were at IGI Airport at Delhi. It was such a relief seeing the T3 after the tiny airports of Leh and Jammu :p After 10 days of curvy roads, heights in excess of 10,000 ft, lack of oxygen - we were finally back in the Plains, all tanned and tired. Straight roads, traffic jams, pollution, the maddening rush hour traffic - we were back in Delhi. And, we were greeted with rains :)
My brother was there to pick me up from the Airport, Amitesh's brother was there to pick him up and Rohit and Nidhi too went their ways. The Legendary Journey had finally ended. While writing this, I still get goosebumps thinking about the moment when I left the T3 to go home. A Journey which was almost cancelled a few weeks before it began, the furious rain gods lashing their fury in Uttarakhand and showing us all who is the boss, we had managed to complete this trip against all odds. And, Kudos to everyone who stuck there till the end.
I know, this may not have been an ideal Journey, for I always wished to drive there on my own, but nonetheless I will treat this as an experience for whenever I go back to the Land of Ladakh. And, I am going back again for sure. I know there are people who scoff at us saying - "Oh, wahaan to bike pe jaana banta hai.". Yes, guys you are right - Ladakh Bike pe hee jaana banta hai, but pehle ek baar khud ho aao, tab yeh bolna banta hai :) I too would probably have driven there myself, but .... ahh leave it, no excuses. One thing is for sure, whenever I go next it would be on my own car with me at the wheel :) I don't know when that next time would be, but there would be a next time for sure - such is the beauty of this place. It will leave you mesmerized and humbled.
I have said this earlier too, but would like to say that again - BRO and the Armed Forces already had our respect, but what this journey had done is increase that respect manifolds. Places where even surviving is a challenge in itself, these guys fight and build roads. And, at some places these roads can put to shame the PWD of our National capital.
So, guys this would be the end of the travelogue. It isn't easy writing a travelogue as I found out. You have to relive each day, each moment again. This is the first time I am writing one, and have understood how tough it is to write one. I know, this may not have been the perfect travelogue and I would not have been able to do justice to the beauty of the place with the clicks or the narrative. Ladakh is something you have to see to believe. And, in the end thanks to the numerous travelogues I read on various forums and the people who took the pains to write them covering the minutest of details telling what to expect in this awe-inspiring journey.
And, finally - the people who were there -
Rohit:
Nidhi -
Amitesh -
Arun -
Bhavna -
And, last but not the least - Me :)
That would be the end of the End Credits I suppose :)
Until next time, cya!
Comments
Post a Comment