Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

You not only got guts, but eyes as well.. What pictures man.. Lovely!! :thumbup:

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Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

Day 13:

I was elated, there was a sense of achievement and we had a long chat on the same. Today was a day to rejoice, take rest and yes, get the dirt and one nail off my bike. Took the bike to mechanic, got the oil changed and got the nail which tagged along from Padum removed and puncture repaired. Roamed around, hopped the amazing cafes in Leh (Free wifi hogging was the idea)

I must say, Leh is a happening place, full of foreigners, there is fun in every corner. We had to find a place to stay for the next day, and we found a home stay right in front of Shanti Stupa for a mere 250 Rs per day! Climbed up the Shanti Stupa in the evening and spent some quite time atop the highest point in Leh.


Very peaceful, except for a group of ladies screaming like monkeys.


Leh city, long exposure



Buddha statue atop the hill



Day 15: Leh - Thikshey - Hemis - Stakna - Leh

Today was a day to explore around Leh, and we headed out early towards the palaces and monasteries














View from atop Hemis







Thiskshey seen from Stakna



Some offroading for a couple pics. Finally got her the prayer flag





Thats Stakna in distance



Day ended with shots of Old Monk and lots of talks. Next up, K-Top, Nubra Valley

Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

Classy:thumbup::thumbup:

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Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

Leh- Khardungla - Nubra valley:

Akshay was to ride with me for rest of the trip. The lazy bugger never wakes up, and takes years to get ready. I was getting impatient as the sun was over the horizon, and I wanted to be at K-Top, but minus the crowds.

We left with a cup of tea. Leh is a lazy city, and the shops open mostly only after 10. We were on our way. The roads were nice, and we were enjoying the ride. Got stuck in a long traffic jam, but being bikers we overtook all the standing crowd and I was the first to reack K-Top \


Gate way of India.. Looks more like a road to the sky



En route K-Top, the beautiful valleys..



Made it to the top.. first.. The board was swamped with tourists shortly after!! I was scared about AMS, after Badhriji gave instances of people he has been with. Luckily, a 4 cups of lemon tea (Amazing lemon tea and black tea) , and 3 plates of momos in the worlds highest cafeteria took care of AMS.



Yours truly





En route Nubra



Excited to see snow again .. Loved all the snow and snow ball throwing.





Towards Nubra. The valleys are really breath taking.




hint of green here and there













This was beautiful to see Shyok river flow. It kept company all the way. Random thoughts of dipping feet in the water were put to rest looking at the force of flow.





Arrow straight roads, pic didnt come out as expected though



There it is, flowing in all its glory



Reached Diskit and got a very nice home stay at 200 Rs a day. Kept all the luggage, and after couple glasses of tea, headed towards Hunder.

En route Hunder



Mirrors of nature





Etching my name in the beautiful sand dunes. There is this nice walkway with a small wooden bridge structure built across flowing water. I wanted a snap of that with the sun in background. There was this group of girls who were playing in water. So I thought will walk across and take the snap after they leave, as sunset was an hour away.



Camel ride, and I am sure they enjoyed it



This was my dream, and I was really happy and satisfied



Sunset.. No bridge, the girl gang had grown larger, and they were in no mood to leave



Headed back for an amazing dinner in authentic Ladakhi kitchen. Best food I have had in the entire trip.



Apricots .. Owner said, pluck a couple to eat, and we kept on eating and eating and eating and...



The day was amazing. We were really happy to have made it this far.. Made a phone call from the army camp area in Diskit to inform parents about where abouts as there was no network.

I slept in the balcony, peacefully staring at the night sky counting stars.. to be woken up by cold

Next up, Agham, Wari la, scaling the mighty Chang La and camping at the amazing Pangong-Tso

Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

Superb pics

Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

Mind blowing pics

Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

Thanks a lot guys

Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

Nubra - Agham - Wari La - Chang La - Pangong Tso:


Today we had to tackle the 2 famed La's. One the less taken Wari la and the other the most feared Chang la. We were up early and headed towards Agham village. We were cruising along the Shyok river and found the diversion towards Wari la.

Arrow straight roads



Glacial melt flowing gleefully.. Other point is, after I left Srinagar, I have never bought a bottle of mineral water. I have been filling my bottle with the ice cold waters from the melting ice, and trust me it tastes awesome.



We carried on, and then the roads took a U turn towards ugly side which is expected as you go towards a pass. This was no exception. We had to wade through water crossings, and streams running on the road.



Green and snow everywhere you see, the land was kind of marshy.







Beautiful valleys



The Z



We reached Sakti and had out breakfast. Headed to Karu for a much needed re fuel. We had to stock up for the next few days as we planned for Tso Moriri and Tso Kar. Next fuel stop was 600Kms away and we filled up all the cans we had and started towards Pangong.

Scaling Chang La was tough. The terrain was rocky and muddy and we had a tough time negotiating this one pass. Some how made it to the top.




Have changed my watermark, so please excuse a different one in few pics

Right after Chang La. Patterns on snow looked like bird.



Beautiful lake coupled with colorful mountains.



Lovely lake with crystal clear water. Sadly no one stops here. Every one is in a hurry to see the big blue lake. In life, there is a lot of beauty in small things which we tend to ignore.






That's Akshay, technically Akshay's backside If you look at the water, you can see the lake bed too! It was that clear!!



First view of the Three idiots lake





A larger view of the lake



And another view of the same lake... Infact all you see here is the lake.. Where ever you see, you see water



It was cloudy and there was a storm brewing. It was turning very cold, and the sun set happened






A guide on how to have tea in style



The cozy ultra delux accomodation for the night We had a couple staying in the tent nearby, and the lady was complaining to the tent owner that there was no wifi in the tent . We had a bigger problem, the water in the toilet was from the lake, and being a salt water lake, we were worried that the salt would dry and get stuck in our a$$ cheeks

It rained like crazy once the darkness fell, but the tent held on and saved the night.



Coming up next, a roadblock, and struggle to find an accommodation. And finally reaching the amazing, mesmerizing, breathtakingly beautiful Tso Moriri

Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

5th pic from the end is truly spectacular

Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

Wow!! just wow...Amazing photos

Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

It was awesome scene


Thank you

Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

more, i want MORE!!!

excellent photography sir

Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

Just awesome photography!

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Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

Thanks a lot for the comments guys Really happy to see all the likes and comments . Will post the next leg soon

Re: Tale of a solo ride into the dreamlands and the lifetime of memories

Sorry for the longish delay in the update. Work life has been a bit hectic, and there was a small escapade which is coming up in another log

I have started editing the videos (Noob in video editing) tried my level best to keep them short and sweet. Will add more once I complete in the next sections.

1> Pune Mumbai:




2> Jammu Patnitop:



3> Beautiful Aru Valley:




4> Yey my first mountain pass- Zozilla



Pangong - Chumatang - Tso Moriri - Tso Kar: