LADAKH

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"LEH  DAYS" (this page)

"TREKKING DAYS" ( page 2)

(BUSRIDE TO) MANALI ( page 3)

DHARAMSALA AND DELHI  (page 4)

Introduction:        From July 27th to August 17th we went to Ladakh (Northern India). This is a report on our trip. The photographs included don't really do justice to this magnificent part of the world. They 're just giving you an impression of our trip. Hope you enjoy it anyway.

General information: First of all, this trip was organized by Shoestring (Netherlands) and there were 18 persons in our group and a Dutch leader.                                  

General information Ladakh: Ladakh is a province of Northern India. It is a high plain (around 3500 - 4000mtr). It's capital is Leh. It can only be reached during a couple of months a year, either by plane or by road. The latter is an adventure in itself, for there is only one "road", that leads you through the Himalayan mountains.    Going to Ladakh you must be well prepared, for there are a few things that might "hit" you :

First of all, there's AMS (acute mountain sickness). There's nothing you can do to prepare you for this. The only thing is ask your GP for medicine, in case. AMS is not to underestimate, because it can kill you if not handled a.s.a.p.        second: don't drink any water unless it is out of a sealed bottle or well cooked !  Make sure you've got something against dehydration (ORS), just in case. At least half of our group got sick one way or the other !!  We got sick 4 days after we had returned !!  

third : when traveling by bus through the Himalayan it is advisable to have medicine against motion sickness as well, especially if you are susceptible.     fourth:  make sure you have enough memory if carrying a digital photo camera. Yours truly made this mistake and had to adjust the quality of the photographs to a lower level. Unfortunately. 

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Sunday July 27th - We had to check in on Schiphol airport at 08.30h. Luckily a friend of ours is a security officer there and his shift started at 08.00h that day, so we traveled together by car.     At the check-in counter we discovered a lot of people with "shoestring labels" going to Delhi. Afterwards it turned out that three different groups were going there. Telling by the shoes and the hand luggage we were able to find out, with a certain degree of certainty, who were going to Ladakh. Thus we saw (as they turned out later) Frits and Inge, Marcel and Mariken, Kees and Ine.

Well, the plane departed on time  (10.30h) and within the hour we were in  Frankfurt. Here we had to check in again, because the flight to Frankfurt was by Lufthansa and now we were to fly with Air India. The queue at the check-in counter was very long and stayed long. So rumors started that the plane from Delhi was delayed until 07.00h the next day ! Well, that wasn't quite true: it was 08.30h ! Air India then send us to a hotel nearby the airport where we had to stay overnight. Luckily all was well arranged, but it would cost us a day and that was not nice.

So we checked in at the hotel and were given lunch and in the evening dinner. You can imagine dinner for some 400 persons is something else, so the group was divided in three (red, blue and green). Depending on time of arrival at the hotel. We were in the blue group, but as it turned out, were given a room of the red group. So what's the problem you might ask. Well this : the red group (which arrived much earlier) had to dine between 18.00 and 19.00h, whereas the blue group between 19.00 and 20.00h. So we were told to get dinner from 19.00h. And after a little sleep, we arrived at the dining room, to get stopped by a German woman ( who- after Berluscony (?)- could easily play the part of a second world war concentration campwoman ). PROBLEM : we had a red line on our card and it was 19.01h and thus for us too late to have dinner ! There was no argument: NO DINNER.  Angrily I turned to the counter and tried to explain what had happened. NO ! Germans don't make mistakes, so it was our fault ! After both my temper and my German went more and more bad, we were (with shaking hands) given permission to have dinner with the green group. The funny thing was that no-one even bothered to check when we had dinner at nine ! After telling our story we found out that more people had had some problem with that same woman.

Monday - July 28th and Tuesday 29th   We were correctly woken by phone and after packing our stuff again we went for breakfast. Delicious (as were lunch and dinner by the way). So nicely at 07.00h we were ready for the shuttle-bus to take us back to the airport. But what a small group was waiting ! Again the proverbial "Deutsche Gründlichkeit" had done its wonders. Not everyone had had their wake-up call and so people were either not awakened yet or where having breakfast. Luckily for them it took more than 5 or 6 shuttle busses, so there was still time and in the end everyone made it easily. But what a start !

At the airport we were given some explanation of what had happened. First the airplane had had technical problems and had to stay in Delhi (the day before); second, when in the end the plane had arrived at Frankfurt, it was already too late (the airport closes for in-flights between 00.00 and 05.00h) ! This was announced twice, so this was apparently very important. Third, the crew had to be changed (or something).  We couldn't give a  ****. All we wanted was to leave !        Actually, at about 10.30h !!!  the plane took off. 

After -teen hours we arrived at Delhi (local time about 23.00h), where we departed the plane and had to show our boarding tickets !!!!!!!! That was a surprise. Checking in with boarding tickets : okay ! But checking out ?  Ilke had left hers in the plane, I left mine somewhere .......... and we were not the only ones having problems finding it. After customs we walked to the meeting point where scores of people were waiting with all kind of messages in their hands, but we managed to find our group leader, who told us that the plane to Leh would fly at 05.00h and that we were going to A hotel (not the one mentioned in the brochure), that the trip would last approx. 40 minutes and that we had to go back to the airport at 03.00h. WE WERE NOT PLEASED ! But in the end there was nothing we could change and so we went with the flow.

Well, everybody did their own thing at the hotel and at 03.00h sharp we took off to the airport again. So everything went okay this time, you might wonder. The answer is: NO.  Now, after unloading our baggage from the bus we were told by airport officials we were dropped at the wrong terminal. Thus, loading our stuff again in the bus, have a little ride and unloading at the right terminal.

Checking in was a ritual in itself. Control, stamp, same sort of control, double stamp and again control. The women where frisked twice (and stamped - just kidding), the men not ! Ilke's backpack got stuck in the machine (due to loose ends) and mine was taken out because I had a lighter in it (at least that was what they thought). It turned out to be my torch (which, with a little imagination, indeed had the shape of a lighter).

Well, all's well that ends well. Isn't it ? Sure ! But this wasn't the end ! The plane took off for Leh, we had a nice flight (make sure you sit on the left side for some spectacular sights) and just before landing there was the following announcement : due to wind gusts we were not going to land at Leh, but were going back to Delhi !!            Well, to make a long story short: At Delhi we stayed in the plane for an hour and then (with another crew) we tried again. This time we made it, so at about 10.10h we were  at our location. The end of our mishap ? Almost. The hotel we were to check in, was fully booked and we had to relocate to a (cheaper) hotel. But at that time no-one cared about it much. Again the group took their own way ( sleeping, going into Leh etc.). In the evening we had dinner with Marcel and Mariken, Agnes and Rian and Hanneke (the group leader) at the Tibetan restaurant, which was nice. Frits couldn't join us because he had health difficulties .

Wednesday - July 30th    Again, we had the day for ourselves. These three days in Leh were to adjust to the high altitude (3700 mtrs). Together with Rian and Agnes, Marcel and Mariken, Kees and Ine we went to four monasteries (palaces). First to Stok, then to Shey, Tikse and last to Matho. Each monastery in their different setting, but all beautiful and with beautiful views of the surroundings. See the pictures (for full view click on each of them). As we neared the Matho monastery I had the distinct feeling that this was the location where the movie "Samsara" , which we had seen back home in April or so, was filmed. After asking it turned out to be so. This was a real thrill to me.

  views from Stok palace

    views in and from Shey palace

views in and from Tikse gompa

  views in and from Matho gompa

We went there by taxi, which is an experience in itself. The local "highway" is a single track (tarmac) road, so every time you meet an oncoming car, one has to make way. That's always done on the latest possible moment (although it seems to us that way). Going off the "highway" leaves you with something remotely looking like a road.

Poor Frits had to visit the local hospital today. Luckily it seems not to be very bad.

Thursday - July 31st    Today we went to Phyang palace, where a festival would take place. The dance by monks was nice, but to us unmeaning. After a couple of hours a lot of the tourists got bored and left, but then things got more interesting ,because at that time more local Ladakhi joined and we were treated with a lot of smiles and beautiful people.

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Friday - August 1st        Another day off. Everyone in the group did their own thing. Ilke and I walked into Leh and went to the main bazaar/market and did some shopping. Nothing special today. We did make arrangements for hiring two motorbikes on Wednesday next .

  ** ** **    ** pictures taken on the streets in Leh

Wednesday - August 6th    Back in Leh ! Today we would have our motor-day. But first we had to get a bike for Ilke, because yesterday evening we heard that they hadn't reserved two bikes. So we went to the place where I had rented a sleeping mat and the man there told us to come back today.  We did. The case was that a relative or acquaintance had a Yamaha 125, but he wasn't sure whether he wanted to lent the bike. Ilke had to ride a bit and had to promise to be extremely careful. She did and we got the bike.

Now to get out of Leh was a problem in itself. The "main road" was blocked and we had to "follow" a detour, that led us over a rocky road through the poorer quarters of Leh. Okay, that we did. Now we had to fuel up. (amazing how costful fuel is up here !) Also done. Then find the proper road to Chemrey gompa. Also done. 

After we had traveled a few kilometers, again the "road"  was sort of blocked. Traffic accident : a motorbike lay on the ground and a van was stuck in the sand. What a nice start, especially when you have to adjust to an Enfield, where the break is left, the gear on the right and "upside down".

Again a bit further on the road traffic got lighter and we managed a good speed of about 40 km/h ! As we rode for a while, we got in sight of a village (no more than a couple of drink/eat stalls) and a road sign. We sat and I ordered two cokes, which the local man refused and said I had to have a bottle of what I thought was apple-juice. But outside it turned out to be beer ! Alright, it was hot, so we drank a bit, before we set course to Chemrey.

The next road was much more quiet and touring was nice. After a while we saw Chemrey, but had to ride a long way before actually reaching it. The last bit was winding and over a stony road.

As we entered the monastery we noticed we were the only ones. We climbed some stairs that gave us view over the yard, where we saw a lot of monks doing something. We were waved down, so we headed for the yard and were welcomed and invited to go into the "prayer room" (or whatever that is called). This was beautiful. All the walls were covered in paintings of Buddha, one way or the other. It was serene.                After being there for a while we wanted to go outside and while going to the door I said to Ilke "we're just in time for lunch", because there was a distinct aroma of what I thought was soup. But as we opened the door, we saw a big (diameter 1 mtr) bowl with rice, another bowl with spinach and a lot of monks waiting with a plate in their hands. We were to join the queue, got a plate in our hand and had to have lunch with them. This was thrilling ! So we went back into the room, placed ourselves (cross-legged on a rug) and ate ! (having no cutlery).

After that we returned to our bikes and drove to Hemis monastery. For this we had to cross the Indus. Somewhere it said another 40 kms to Hemis (which would have taken at least an hour's ride), but luckily the monastery was close by. So we looked around, but this was far more touristic again and therefore less "interesting", although it's very nice.

Now, for our way back, we were told not to cross the Indus again, but to stay on "this side". Having seen the "highway" , it was hard to find a "normal" road, but we did. This, of course, was something we would call "off-road" riding, but it was (too) quiet and the landscape was fantastic. The road however got worse and worse. Due to irrigation the road was frequently inundated by less and more heavy streaming water. There was no telling how deep certain ditches were and how slippery the stones you could see. At one point Ilke didn't dare cross riding, so we had to walk the bike through the water. I then rode through the water as you can see on the scanned picture ( watch the loss of quality).

After a while we weren't sure where to turn right (as we should according to our map) and we had to ask a few times. But things went okay and we found our way back to Leh. There we took a few wrong turns, but in the end we managed to find the centre and returned our bikes. This was surely a memorable day !

the next page is  "trekking days"

or you can go to  "(busride to) Manali"

                                                or   "Dharamsala and Delhi " 

All photographs taken with Canon pro90IS and adjusted for the internet. Except for a few changes in background (blurring*and/or cropping **) or slight cosmetic changes***, these photographs are not tampered with ! And if you didn't figure it out yet: click on a photograph to get a full view ! (this may take some time, depending on your download speed !)

Last changed 03-02-2006 17:20

© 1999-2004 Henk Vink and Ilke Harmsen