Ladakh- Tortured Twice in Two Months
Oh, I love Ladakh. Let the title not misguide you.
When I went to Ladakh for the first time in June this year,
I was awestruck by the insane natural beauty of the place. Brown mountains with
ice capped peaks all around a desert with sand dunes, a perennial blue lake
with no vegetation or plantation anywhere close to it till as far as the eye
could see, an ancient town with yellow buildings falling apart in most places-
it was beautiful. During the 11 day trip I realized a very important thing-
Ladakh’s beauty was in all the road journeys we took and not just in the
destination we arrived at. If one can appreciate these changing landscapes
within a few kilometers, only then can they appreciate the beauty of this cold
desert and that of life sustaining at such a remote place. Apart from this
there is little to see there.
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| At K-Top, Khardungla in June 2017 when it was still snow covered due to a late summer |
At the end of my June trip, having covered the Srinagar-
Kargil- Leh- Khardungla- Nubra Valley- Shyok- Pangong- Changla- Leh route, I
was wondering if I would want to come back to Ladakh. Although I had loved the
beauty, the answer in my head was a firm ‘No’. I didn’t want to take this
treacherous road journey yet again. Once was more than enough. (And to think
the road didn’t exist in some parts. Like the Shyok river route)
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| Exploring places like newbies. June 2017. Srinagar-Leh highway |
Two days after I returned to Delhi, I put up details for a
group trip to Ladakh in August that I would lead.
In August when I went back to the region, this time with 5
other people- as their trip leader- the landscapes looked absolutely different.
The snow I had seen in June all around had melted. Dried river beds were now
gushing streams of water. This was a contrast to my memory but looked equally
beautiful. The boredom I thought I would have of visiting the same places twice
in less than 2 months, didn’t crop up at all.
Arriving in Leh felt like homecoming. While last time
everything was left to imagination, this time I knew exactly what to expect and
where. I knew exactly how the city looks like. I knew the roads, the
restaurants, the functional ATMs, the faces of shop owners, waiters, travel
agents.
I have always believed a trip becomes as memorable as the
people you are traveling with or the ones you meet on the way. The people have
a bigger influence on one’s memory than the place itself. While my first trip
was with two friends, well planned and researched over a month’s time, the
second was with five people who had signed up with me so they could live their
Ladakh dream. No two trips, howsoever similar the itinerary might be, can ever
be the same because the ‘people’ are different.
So while we headed to Pangong this time around, we had
conversations about all the films that have been shot in the region way before 3 Idiots made it famous. As the car
drove towards the lake, we did a big countdown to the exact moment when the
lake is first visible to the eye, several kilometers before one reaches it.
Why? Because we want to see that blueness as soon as we can. That picture in
the head needs to be seen in front of the eyes. As every single head in the car
looked in anticipation in the direction, I felt a sudden joy. I knew this
anticipation. I had experienced it two months back. And right now I felt proud
to be able to show it to them in that way.
The roads had improved slightly this time all across Ladakh
and also on the Srinagar highway that we took. The torture of the car going
over potholes and rugged roads was still mostly the same. But this time we had
the entire vehicle to ourselves, unlike the shared vehicle we took last time.
There was never a dull moment, if I assessed it right, because we played an
insane number of games throughout the journeys. When not playing, we became bad
Mozarts and storytellers or simply listened to the wonderful playlist the
trippers were carrying. One game became an addiction to such a level that we
had to impose a self-ban on it for sometime. That was the fun.
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| The group departing from the beautiful homestay in Nubra Valley, August 2017 |
Last time my friends hadn’t really appreciated me including
Nubra valley in the plan, so this time I didn’t want to keep the expectations
of the people much from the place. Surprisingly, the group loved Nubra Valley-
playing in the silver sand dunes for hours, standing in the chilled waters of
the Shyok river, having a bonfire in the unexpectedly chilly night and then
spotting more than 10 shooting stars in less than 10 minutes from the rooftop
of our homestay.
We also went to the Hunder Fort, met the marmots on the way
to Pangong, played in the snow at Khardungla and hoisted the national flag, climbed
up the Nanak Hill, witnessed the moonland at Lamayuru, visited the Spituk
Monastery and Hemis Gompa- all things which my first trip hadn’t seen.
This second trip definitely took the weariness out of Ladakh
for me. At the end of this August trip, I was wondering if I would want to come
back to Ladakh. The answer in my head was a surprising Yes. Yes, I would want
to go back to the cold desert because there is so much more to explore there.
More than that, I would like to take more groups of people to this dream
destination and watch them live their dreams.
Ladakh, I shall see you again in the summer of 2018.
Have you visited a destination more than once and still want
to go back there?
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You people must have had a lifetime experience over there. Hoping to get into the place once in a lifetime..
ReplyDeleteIt's a definite must-visit place. Do plan a trip soon :)
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