Hi Folks !
How have you been?!
I had a wonderful holiday in Ladakh!
Want some tips?
Here you go -
After reaching, keep 7 to 8 clear days with Leh as a base to cover everything.
Drive up the Srinagar - Kargil - Leh route. It's beautiful beyond words and you get acclimatized naturally along the way as you climb slowly.
You will halt the night in Kargil and leave for Leh the next morning. On the way, you will see the Tiger Hill, Lamayuru, the oldest Monastery of Ladakh , Alchi, another major monastery, Moon Land, Magnetic Hill, and visit the Patthar Sahib Gurudwara where Guru Nanak Devji had taught a lesson to a demon in 1558.
You can also see the meeting of the two mighty rivers Indus and Zanskar.
If you drive up, you can avoid headaches, dizziness and dryness in body.
On the first day in Leh, do the Hemis Monastery and go on to the Chumathang valley and its hot sulphur springs. You will be back by evening and it won't be very tiring.
The next day, you can do the Pangang tso (tso = lake ) and stay overnight too, to watch the sun set and sunrise.There are many resorts and camping sites.
Back in Leh, go to the local Palaces and Monasteries and go around the beautiful, colourful market.
Next, the - THE Mighty Khardung la !( la = pass).
It is at 18,380' and you will feel light in the head when you get out of your cars, so don't walk too fast.
Take very slow steps and listen to whatever advice the army people stationed there give you.
There is a temple, a souvenir shop and a cafe for hot tea.
Also, plenty of opportunities for taking pictures!
Just take it easy and don't get excited!
It was wonderful to see many, many youngsters who had come all the way from Delhi and beyond, riding their motor bikes! Some had taken leave and come from Singapore, Dubai, Chennai, Kerala and so on. There were many couples too, with bright, happy faces and excitement at the awesome sights.
Go on, do it right now, when you are young and healthy and full of fun!
From the Khardunga la pass, you then cross over to Nubra Valley which is stunningly beautiful . There is home - stay available at the local people's homes. These home - stays, only - organic food and treks to the Siachen Base Camp for snow - climbing are recent additions to encourage sensible tourism.
Google to find out, I am sure if scores of non - Indians could locate them, you can too.
I found a few sites.There are some regular Resorts with spacious tented accommodation and good food.
In the Nubra River Valley, there is also the Diskit Monastery, sand - dunes with double - humped camels to ride on and some very amazing views.
On your way out and back to so - called civilization, take the Leh - Manali highway which will take you through some more gorgeous passes and natural beauty.
You can come up the Manali - Leh highway and go down the Srinagar route too.
This - what I have explained, is the most ideal way to come up to and go down from Ladakh.
Try to do it !
Some tips -
Keep some Camphor with you. Put a piece in your handkerchief and keep smelling on it every now and then.
It is an instant pick - me - up.
Keep an extra pair of shoes, in case your pair gets wet. Check for rainfall etc, for this tip, if none foretold, you can skip this.
Keep small and many packets of dry fruits and keep eating bits every now and then.
You may feel you don't need to drink water but the weather is deceptive and you will dehydrate in no time, so take a couple of small / medium bottles of water with you.
There are refills available in your hotels or in some shops.
I can give you an army tip coming from their Commando days -
When you come back to your hotel, there has to be at least 2 sips of water left in the bottle!
Talk less.
Breathe deeply.
Do a Namaste and say Thank You to the people keeping the roads clear of landslides and debris for you - the hard working men of Border Roads and our wonderful Army.
Deserve them.
Right?!
Every such trip tells me a little more about myself.
This one told me to stop procrastinating and get on with physical fitness.
I have obeyed and started.
Also, that I need to meditate more and focus on those projects which I know I want to do.
This will set me free to take up anything which is gently, unobtrusively pushed my way.
Places like Leh, basically the hills and mountains and passes and gurgling rivers, however hectic the trip, have a dream like quality and take you back to wonderful moments in the rest of your life.
You can breathe deeply, connect with them and pay gratitude for the instant lift in your spirits.
In Leh, the calm, smiling behaviour of the locals, their non - shouting, non - screaming, non - imposing spirituality, gentleness and contented demeanour does, stealthily, make an impression.
What are your own take - aways from such trips and journeys?
Do share -
Now let us come to an interesting topic.
Death is a topic which is generally avoided or dealt with very clinically, in a resigned manner.
No one seems to know how to prepare for it or face it.
Funny, isn't it?!
One may avoid exams, interviews, journeys and adventures to the best of one's ability.
This is one trip no one can run away from, and yet, there is so much of ignorance and unwillingness and refusal to learn or understand.
There is this Zen saying - ' Die before you die '.
Heard it before?!
I love it.
Our body is changing every moment. Old cells die and new ones take their place all the time.
It happens so fast that we do not notice it, but happen it does.
See, we do not grow old by 10 years every 10 years, right?
We grow older every day, every moment.
Which means something inside us finishes its life span and dies, to be replaced by something new.
Now if we just accepted this, we would realize that our cells have died and have been reborn innumerable times in our life time.
And that we are none the worse for it.
Similarly, we are not the same that we were a few years ago or in our childhood.
We have consciously grown out of certain habit patterns or simply discarded them to be replaced by maturity and common sense.
This is dying in a way, is it not?
And being reborn as another person, with lesser ego and self - obsession.
When we move away from our old attachments and parameters which set our own identity, we are in truth freeing our souls to soar and seek its life's purpose.
So die before you die and let each transition be smoother than the earlier one.
It is liberating and exhilarating.
Enjoy !
How have you been?!
I had a wonderful holiday in Ladakh!
Want some tips?
Here you go -
After reaching, keep 7 to 8 clear days with Leh as a base to cover everything.
Drive up the Srinagar - Kargil - Leh route. It's beautiful beyond words and you get acclimatized naturally along the way as you climb slowly.
You will halt the night in Kargil and leave for Leh the next morning. On the way, you will see the Tiger Hill, Lamayuru, the oldest Monastery of Ladakh , Alchi, another major monastery, Moon Land, Magnetic Hill, and visit the Patthar Sahib Gurudwara where Guru Nanak Devji had taught a lesson to a demon in 1558.
You can also see the meeting of the two mighty rivers Indus and Zanskar.
If you drive up, you can avoid headaches, dizziness and dryness in body.
On the first day in Leh, do the Hemis Monastery and go on to the Chumathang valley and its hot sulphur springs. You will be back by evening and it won't be very tiring.
The next day, you can do the Pangang tso (tso = lake ) and stay overnight too, to watch the sun set and sunrise.There are many resorts and camping sites.
Back in Leh, go to the local Palaces and Monasteries and go around the beautiful, colourful market.
Next, the - THE Mighty Khardung la !( la = pass).
It is at 18,380' and you will feel light in the head when you get out of your cars, so don't walk too fast.
Take very slow steps and listen to whatever advice the army people stationed there give you.
There is a temple, a souvenir shop and a cafe for hot tea.
Also, plenty of opportunities for taking pictures!
Just take it easy and don't get excited!
It was wonderful to see many, many youngsters who had come all the way from Delhi and beyond, riding their motor bikes! Some had taken leave and come from Singapore, Dubai, Chennai, Kerala and so on. There were many couples too, with bright, happy faces and excitement at the awesome sights.
Go on, do it right now, when you are young and healthy and full of fun!
From the Khardunga la pass, you then cross over to Nubra Valley which is stunningly beautiful . There is home - stay available at the local people's homes. These home - stays, only - organic food and treks to the Siachen Base Camp for snow - climbing are recent additions to encourage sensible tourism.
Google to find out, I am sure if scores of non - Indians could locate them, you can too.
I found a few sites.There are some regular Resorts with spacious tented accommodation and good food.
In the Nubra River Valley, there is also the Diskit Monastery, sand - dunes with double - humped camels to ride on and some very amazing views.
On your way out and back to so - called civilization, take the Leh - Manali highway which will take you through some more gorgeous passes and natural beauty.
You can come up the Manali - Leh highway and go down the Srinagar route too.
This - what I have explained, is the most ideal way to come up to and go down from Ladakh.
Try to do it !
Some tips -
Keep some Camphor with you. Put a piece in your handkerchief and keep smelling on it every now and then.
It is an instant pick - me - up.
Keep an extra pair of shoes, in case your pair gets wet. Check for rainfall etc, for this tip, if none foretold, you can skip this.
Keep small and many packets of dry fruits and keep eating bits every now and then.
You may feel you don't need to drink water but the weather is deceptive and you will dehydrate in no time, so take a couple of small / medium bottles of water with you.
There are refills available in your hotels or in some shops.
I can give you an army tip coming from their Commando days -
When you come back to your hotel, there has to be at least 2 sips of water left in the bottle!
Talk less.
Breathe deeply.
Do a Namaste and say Thank You to the people keeping the roads clear of landslides and debris for you - the hard working men of Border Roads and our wonderful Army.
Deserve them.
Right?!
Every such trip tells me a little more about myself.
This one told me to stop procrastinating and get on with physical fitness.
I have obeyed and started.
Also, that I need to meditate more and focus on those projects which I know I want to do.
This will set me free to take up anything which is gently, unobtrusively pushed my way.
Places like Leh, basically the hills and mountains and passes and gurgling rivers, however hectic the trip, have a dream like quality and take you back to wonderful moments in the rest of your life.
You can breathe deeply, connect with them and pay gratitude for the instant lift in your spirits.
In Leh, the calm, smiling behaviour of the locals, their non - shouting, non - screaming, non - imposing spirituality, gentleness and contented demeanour does, stealthily, make an impression.
What are your own take - aways from such trips and journeys?
Do share -
Now let us come to an interesting topic.
Death is a topic which is generally avoided or dealt with very clinically, in a resigned manner.
No one seems to know how to prepare for it or face it.
Funny, isn't it?!
One may avoid exams, interviews, journeys and adventures to the best of one's ability.
This is one trip no one can run away from, and yet, there is so much of ignorance and unwillingness and refusal to learn or understand.
There is this Zen saying - ' Die before you die '.
Heard it before?!
I love it.
Our body is changing every moment. Old cells die and new ones take their place all the time.
It happens so fast that we do not notice it, but happen it does.
See, we do not grow old by 10 years every 10 years, right?
We grow older every day, every moment.
Which means something inside us finishes its life span and dies, to be replaced by something new.
Now if we just accepted this, we would realize that our cells have died and have been reborn innumerable times in our life time.
And that we are none the worse for it.
Similarly, we are not the same that we were a few years ago or in our childhood.
We have consciously grown out of certain habit patterns or simply discarded them to be replaced by maturity and common sense.
This is dying in a way, is it not?
And being reborn as another person, with lesser ego and self - obsession.
When we move away from our old attachments and parameters which set our own identity, we are in truth freeing our souls to soar and seek its life's purpose.
So die before you die and let each transition be smoother than the earlier one.
It is liberating and exhilarating.
Enjoy !
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