A pilgrim always looks to explore new lands….
On 5th July, Asia and I set out for the north of India. For me, it was mainly a reason to escape from the monsoon in Maharashtra, from my everyday routine, and as I often think it, it’s always good for my sanity to get away from Pune every 3 months, in the least, for however small a time. Not to forget that I would have the pleasure to be in the company of Asia…
We boarded a plane to Delhi and set out by train towards Amritsar.
Amritsar and the Golden Temple –
We arrived early in the morning, and were greeted by kind and welcoming Sardars at the temple dormitories. They allowed us to rest and bathe in the foreigners’ section for a small donation of our choice that we were requested to make.
The Golden Temple emits an image of calm, peace and serenity in this otherwise dirty and chaotic city. Although brilliantly adorned in gold, the temple, because of its volunteers, carries an image of humility. A special moment for me involved sitting on the mezzanine floor of the main temple overlooking the original Guru Granth Sahib with the constant chants creating incredible vibrations. I also took pleasure in sitting at the steps of the amritsarovar (nectar pond) playing with the fish and looking at the people bathing.
McLeod Ganj – the shrine of His Holiness the Dalailama
From Amritsar, we took a 6 hour bus ride to reach Dharamsala.
* What do you do when around 10 foreigners with their Lonely Planet opened on the same page look up to you to get a good deal for a taxi from Dharamsala to McLeod Ganj (around 9kms away)? Well, you take charge and start bargaining for a good price in broken Hindi! Unfortunately, language is not always the sole barrier… I didn’t get any discount!
Since H.H. Dalailama resides in the Tsuglagkhang complex in McLeod Ganj, the town very much looks like a small Tibetan hub. The splendor of the surrounding mountains along with the constant change in weather leading to their different colors leaves us in awe. Even the rain couldn’t dampen the beauty of this place. The kindness of the people in this small town pierces through you. They are genuinely caring and humble.
McLeod Ganj is full of small cozy cafés, but we quickly picked up our favorites. These comprised of mainly two, our breakfast joint and the Exile Brothers’ Café. We saw a documentary on music at the Exile Brothers’ Café, and that brought a tear to my eye. We were then treated to a concert by the Exile Brothers' themselves, and joined in chants of “Free Tibet” and weird laughter… I think they were quite stoned!
If you’re a foodie, McLeod is a great place to visit! An Indian woman sharing our table would vouch for it, since she returned there the second time just for the food!
Our trip there got more special when we were fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the Dalailama giving a speech. He carries a special aura.
I particularly enjoyed our walk to Bhagsu village (around 2kms from McLeod Ganj) and the various waterfalls surrounding it, along with the lone Gompa overlooking the village. I also liked resting in the cemetery adjoining a church and looking at the mountains changing colors with the change in weather.
Srinagar – India or Pakistan?
After 5 days in McLeod Ganj, we set out to Srinagar in a car for a 13 hours drive with a Kashmiri and a driver who was very curious about the land of amazing fruits (he also enjoyed spitting – unfortunately, as he was concentrating on driving, half his spit would always end up on his sleeve!). The landscape on the way was jaw dropping beautiful.
In Srinagar, we managed to escape the general persuasive peddlers by contacting a brother of a friend who owned a houseboat. Although being reassured by him that we were his guests and not his clients' many times, we unfortunately got ripped off and were left utterly disappointed with our stay in his houseboat. I was actually convinced we were headed for some trouble the moment he uttered the words “No Problems!”
Nevertheless, Srinagar is a naturally beautiful place with its picturesque Dal Lake surrounded by the Himalayan Mountains. It was a pleasure to ride in the shikaras (small boats) around the lake and through its various small natural channels.
While in Srinagar, I got the impression that the people were discontented with the way the Indian government administers Kashmir, and they would prefer to be identified as Pakistanis rather than Indians. I wonder if this is true?
Two day bus ride and the Kargil effect
On the 12th morning, we took a bus for Leh. This would be almost a 24 hour bus ride with a stop over at Kargil to spend the night. What happens when around 30 strangers are stuck to each other for 2 days? We start talking to each other. Asia met quite a few Polish people and got acquainted with a couple of them – Monika (short) and Monika (tall)! We also got acquainted with an Indian/U.S guy – Navneet - who we would come to learn is quite the adventurous type (We crossed him at a later stage, on one of his expeditions where he was having problems starting his 350cc Enfield at an altitude of around 4000 m in the middle of nowhere, and he just looked at us and waved as if everything was fine and shiny!)
It is hard to notice how uncomfortable a bus ride is when the landscape is as spectacular as it was. At one point, we had to be looking down a couple of thousand meters directly at the river below us. The mountains slowly changed from green, to Rocky Mountains with snow tops and finally to the sand colored mountains. The mountains truly looked like huge piles of sand dunes.
We finally reached Kargil on the 12th evening to be welcomed by a town that showed the ravages of war. The buildings, streets, people and their spirit all bore the scars of war. Distrustful but at the same time trying to make an effort to be kind, it leaves you with an eerie feeling. Kargil being the base for all buses going to Ladakh, it is not easy to find a good hotel which is not full, and nevertheless, they are all overpriced. The first hour of Kargil involved travelers crossing each other on the streets and shouting at each other “Haven’t found a hotel yet?” (An American actually gave up looking for one and slept on top of the bus!). Our lowest point was reached when we found a hotel with a sheet as a roof, broken walls, the sound of rats and pigeons around, and bed sheets so dirty, you would be scared to sit on them; it also had two peepholes where you could see eyes peeping in. We obviously decided to look for another one, and found one which was an inch more satisfactory. However, the Monikas and Navneet spent the night at that hotel, and short Monika had to experience the wrath of the toilet when she puked as she entered it.
However tired, 4am was not too early to wake up and get on a relatively cleaner bus!
The second day journey was less eventful (although the landscape was as beautiful) since most of us caught up on our sleep.
Leh, Ladakh – Mountains or Sand Dunes?
On the 13th afternoon, we reached Leh. Leh does not give you a great first impression. It grows on you. With numerous army bases, its suburbs are not charming. It’s a town where, as you spend more and more days, you find your special places, your favorite restaurants and cafés, and of course the many German Bakeries with their yummy Yak Cheese. Plus, using Leh as a base, it is a great place to do so many things – trekking, river rafting, visiting the surrounding valleys and natural wonders, visiting the countless Gompas in adjoining towns and villages, etc. We found that 9 days was largely insufficient, since to do a good trek, you need a minimum of 4-5 days; you also have to take into account that you need at least 2 days of rest to get used to the altitude of 3500 meters.
At Leh, the walks (sometimes climbing) to the various Gompas, the Palace, the Shanti Stupa, the Women’s Alliance of Ladakh (where we saw an interesting documentary on how life changed in Ladakh in the past 20 years, and the industrialization is taking over at an alarming rate, which may be causing long term damages) bring you to amazing and very varied places in the town where one always stumbles upon either Stupas and brick or mud houses, and even interesting people, specially small kids giving you directions! The views from the Leh Palace and the Shanti Stupa are glorious – it overlooks the various sandy mountains surrounding Leh making it into a valley, with the green part (helping cultivation, farming, etc.) and the desert part of the town. Also, the snow capped Himalayas are also always in view from most parts of Leh. Ladakh is alive for 4 months and hibernates during the long 8 month winter.
The visits to the various Gompas in the adjoining villages at Shey, Stok, Spituk, Phyang were also special. They emitted vibrations of serenity and mostly adorned colors of red, yellow and blue. Most of them had incredible Buddha statues and even more interesting Tankas (wall paintings). The Phyang Tsedup Festival was unforgettable, although a little spoilt by the various tourists showing no respect to the dancers. Asia deems that there was at least USD 100,000 worth of cameras in that festival!
Reaching a few record breaking places like the Khardungla Pass (highest motorable pass in the world at 5602 meters) and the Changla Pass (third highest motorable pass in the world at 5200 meters) felt exceptional. I got to touch snow and feel -6 degrees of temperature in the month of July! Somehow, strange weather always seems to unite people. Everyone at the Khardungla Pass was talking to each other, jumping (you got to, to keep warm) and laughing.
One of the main reasons I was happy to go to Ladakh was to see the Pangong Lake. Before the journey, when I saw the pictures on the Internet, I did not believe that the place would be as beautiful as it was in the image. I was delightfully wronged - it’s even more beautiful in reality. This lake truly ranks as one of the most beautiful places I've seen on earth. The turquoise blue of the water surrounded by the sand colored mountains, the blue sky and the snow capped mountains just leaves you with no fucking words. And to know that on the other side of the lake resides what should be Tibet makes it even more special. I was truly at loss for words. I still am, when I think of that place.
Driven mostly by guilt, we set out, on our last day at Leh, for an extra mini trek of 2 hours. This made us realize that we should have done that much earlier. Although I suffered from shortness of breath, the experience was invigorating on the whole. Due to our time constraint, we could not fulfill our aim (it was actually my exaggerated aim) to reach the point where we could see the snow capped mountain clearly. But, we did manage to reach (after I huffed and puffed) the first and smallest peak of the Stok range!
*on my last night of Leh, I did something very “globalization-like”. What would someone do on 21st July? Like many other people in the world, I bought “Harry Potter – The Deathly Hollows”. Upon buying it, I was told that I was the first person from the Delhi to Leh region to have bought it. I hardly believe that since I learnt that there were queues at 5am in the morning on the 21st, outside bookstores in Pune. But it may just be possible that I was the first buyer at Leh!
On 22nd July, we boarded a plane which was unexpectedly on time, and were off to Delhi to catch an afternoon flight back to Pune, where surprisingly, the sun greeted us!
We boarded a plane to Delhi and set out by train towards Amritsar.
Amritsar and the Golden Temple –
We arrived early in the morning, and were greeted by kind and welcoming Sardars at the temple dormitories. They allowed us to rest and bathe in the foreigners’ section for a small donation of our choice that we were requested to make.
The Golden Temple emits an image of calm, peace and serenity in this otherwise dirty and chaotic city. Although brilliantly adorned in gold, the temple, because of its volunteers, carries an image of humility. A special moment for me involved sitting on the mezzanine floor of the main temple overlooking the original Guru Granth Sahib with the constant chants creating incredible vibrations. I also took pleasure in sitting at the steps of the amritsarovar (nectar pond) playing with the fish and looking at the people bathing.
McLeod Ganj – the shrine of His Holiness the Dalailama
From Amritsar, we took a 6 hour bus ride to reach Dharamsala.
* What do you do when around 10 foreigners with their Lonely Planet opened on the same page look up to you to get a good deal for a taxi from Dharamsala to McLeod Ganj (around 9kms away)? Well, you take charge and start bargaining for a good price in broken Hindi! Unfortunately, language is not always the sole barrier… I didn’t get any discount!
Since H.H. Dalailama resides in the Tsuglagkhang complex in McLeod Ganj, the town very much looks like a small Tibetan hub. The splendor of the surrounding mountains along with the constant change in weather leading to their different colors leaves us in awe. Even the rain couldn’t dampen the beauty of this place. The kindness of the people in this small town pierces through you. They are genuinely caring and humble.
McLeod Ganj is full of small cozy cafés, but we quickly picked up our favorites. These comprised of mainly two, our breakfast joint and the Exile Brothers’ Café. We saw a documentary on music at the Exile Brothers’ Café, and that brought a tear to my eye. We were then treated to a concert by the Exile Brothers' themselves, and joined in chants of “Free Tibet” and weird laughter… I think they were quite stoned!
If you’re a foodie, McLeod is a great place to visit! An Indian woman sharing our table would vouch for it, since she returned there the second time just for the food!
Our trip there got more special when we were fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the Dalailama giving a speech. He carries a special aura.
I particularly enjoyed our walk to Bhagsu village (around 2kms from McLeod Ganj) and the various waterfalls surrounding it, along with the lone Gompa overlooking the village. I also liked resting in the cemetery adjoining a church and looking at the mountains changing colors with the change in weather.
Srinagar – India or Pakistan?
After 5 days in McLeod Ganj, we set out to Srinagar in a car for a 13 hours drive with a Kashmiri and a driver who was very curious about the land of amazing fruits (he also enjoyed spitting – unfortunately, as he was concentrating on driving, half his spit would always end up on his sleeve!). The landscape on the way was jaw dropping beautiful.
In Srinagar, we managed to escape the general persuasive peddlers by contacting a brother of a friend who owned a houseboat. Although being reassured by him that we were his guests and not his clients' many times, we unfortunately got ripped off and were left utterly disappointed with our stay in his houseboat. I was actually convinced we were headed for some trouble the moment he uttered the words “No Problems!”
Nevertheless, Srinagar is a naturally beautiful place with its picturesque Dal Lake surrounded by the Himalayan Mountains. It was a pleasure to ride in the shikaras (small boats) around the lake and through its various small natural channels.
While in Srinagar, I got the impression that the people were discontented with the way the Indian government administers Kashmir, and they would prefer to be identified as Pakistanis rather than Indians. I wonder if this is true?
Two day bus ride and the Kargil effect
On the 12th morning, we took a bus for Leh. This would be almost a 24 hour bus ride with a stop over at Kargil to spend the night. What happens when around 30 strangers are stuck to each other for 2 days? We start talking to each other. Asia met quite a few Polish people and got acquainted with a couple of them – Monika (short) and Monika (tall)! We also got acquainted with an Indian/U.S guy – Navneet - who we would come to learn is quite the adventurous type (We crossed him at a later stage, on one of his expeditions where he was having problems starting his 350cc Enfield at an altitude of around 4000 m in the middle of nowhere, and he just looked at us and waved as if everything was fine and shiny!)
It is hard to notice how uncomfortable a bus ride is when the landscape is as spectacular as it was. At one point, we had to be looking down a couple of thousand meters directly at the river below us. The mountains slowly changed from green, to Rocky Mountains with snow tops and finally to the sand colored mountains. The mountains truly looked like huge piles of sand dunes.
We finally reached Kargil on the 12th evening to be welcomed by a town that showed the ravages of war. The buildings, streets, people and their spirit all bore the scars of war. Distrustful but at the same time trying to make an effort to be kind, it leaves you with an eerie feeling. Kargil being the base for all buses going to Ladakh, it is not easy to find a good hotel which is not full, and nevertheless, they are all overpriced. The first hour of Kargil involved travelers crossing each other on the streets and shouting at each other “Haven’t found a hotel yet?” (An American actually gave up looking for one and slept on top of the bus!). Our lowest point was reached when we found a hotel with a sheet as a roof, broken walls, the sound of rats and pigeons around, and bed sheets so dirty, you would be scared to sit on them; it also had two peepholes where you could see eyes peeping in. We obviously decided to look for another one, and found one which was an inch more satisfactory. However, the Monikas and Navneet spent the night at that hotel, and short Monika had to experience the wrath of the toilet when she puked as she entered it.
However tired, 4am was not too early to wake up and get on a relatively cleaner bus!
The second day journey was less eventful (although the landscape was as beautiful) since most of us caught up on our sleep.
Leh, Ladakh – Mountains or Sand Dunes?
On the 13th afternoon, we reached Leh. Leh does not give you a great first impression. It grows on you. With numerous army bases, its suburbs are not charming. It’s a town where, as you spend more and more days, you find your special places, your favorite restaurants and cafés, and of course the many German Bakeries with their yummy Yak Cheese. Plus, using Leh as a base, it is a great place to do so many things – trekking, river rafting, visiting the surrounding valleys and natural wonders, visiting the countless Gompas in adjoining towns and villages, etc. We found that 9 days was largely insufficient, since to do a good trek, you need a minimum of 4-5 days; you also have to take into account that you need at least 2 days of rest to get used to the altitude of 3500 meters.
At Leh, the walks (sometimes climbing) to the various Gompas, the Palace, the Shanti Stupa, the Women’s Alliance of Ladakh (where we saw an interesting documentary on how life changed in Ladakh in the past 20 years, and the industrialization is taking over at an alarming rate, which may be causing long term damages) bring you to amazing and very varied places in the town where one always stumbles upon either Stupas and brick or mud houses, and even interesting people, specially small kids giving you directions! The views from the Leh Palace and the Shanti Stupa are glorious – it overlooks the various sandy mountains surrounding Leh making it into a valley, with the green part (helping cultivation, farming, etc.) and the desert part of the town. Also, the snow capped Himalayas are also always in view from most parts of Leh. Ladakh is alive for 4 months and hibernates during the long 8 month winter.
The visits to the various Gompas in the adjoining villages at Shey, Stok, Spituk, Phyang were also special. They emitted vibrations of serenity and mostly adorned colors of red, yellow and blue. Most of them had incredible Buddha statues and even more interesting Tankas (wall paintings). The Phyang Tsedup Festival was unforgettable, although a little spoilt by the various tourists showing no respect to the dancers. Asia deems that there was at least USD 100,000 worth of cameras in that festival!
Reaching a few record breaking places like the Khardungla Pass (highest motorable pass in the world at 5602 meters) and the Changla Pass (third highest motorable pass in the world at 5200 meters) felt exceptional. I got to touch snow and feel -6 degrees of temperature in the month of July! Somehow, strange weather always seems to unite people. Everyone at the Khardungla Pass was talking to each other, jumping (you got to, to keep warm) and laughing.
One of the main reasons I was happy to go to Ladakh was to see the Pangong Lake. Before the journey, when I saw the pictures on the Internet, I did not believe that the place would be as beautiful as it was in the image. I was delightfully wronged - it’s even more beautiful in reality. This lake truly ranks as one of the most beautiful places I've seen on earth. The turquoise blue of the water surrounded by the sand colored mountains, the blue sky and the snow capped mountains just leaves you with no fucking words. And to know that on the other side of the lake resides what should be Tibet makes it even more special. I was truly at loss for words. I still am, when I think of that place.
Driven mostly by guilt, we set out, on our last day at Leh, for an extra mini trek of 2 hours. This made us realize that we should have done that much earlier. Although I suffered from shortness of breath, the experience was invigorating on the whole. Due to our time constraint, we could not fulfill our aim (it was actually my exaggerated aim) to reach the point where we could see the snow capped mountain clearly. But, we did manage to reach (after I huffed and puffed) the first and smallest peak of the Stok range!
*on my last night of Leh, I did something very “globalization-like”. What would someone do on 21st July? Like many other people in the world, I bought “Harry Potter – The Deathly Hollows”. Upon buying it, I was told that I was the first person from the Delhi to Leh region to have bought it. I hardly believe that since I learnt that there were queues at 5am in the morning on the 21st, outside bookstores in Pune. But it may just be possible that I was the first buyer at Leh!
On 22nd July, we boarded a plane which was unexpectedly on time, and were off to Delhi to catch an afternoon flight back to Pune, where surprisingly, the sun greeted us!
posted by manu at 10:18 PM
2 Comments:
Thanks for sharing the details of you fantastic trip. Now that I know all the amazing places you've been, I'll forgive you for not joining us to Morocco :)))
ps: I love this:
"I was actually convinced we were headed for some trouble the moment he uttered the words “No Problems!”
Brr. I could feel the cold while reading the description of your marvellous journey, as usual laced wth your funny comments. What I cannot believe that you actually, that, incredibly, you bought HP7 in Leh. I don't think I'll ever be able to figure it out. Leh represents to me a place that's least likely to have any sort of globalization. wow. you bought a harry potter in ladakh. This is something to remember.
by the way, Asia is a nice name.
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