Blogs from Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, India, Asia - page 8

Do you know how many times I tried to start this blog, then deleted it? Too many. I can't explain it. Serious. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then my pictures will help me out in this blog. Egypt was nice and travelling with Anna was so perfect, but saying goodbye was one of the hardest things I've done. In this blog, I just did point forms as something has come to my mind, it's the only way I could do it. Some are just questions that go through my mind. India? Take a look at the photos and have a read. Here we go... India - A beautiful mess Fu€�... read more

Na een mooi tochtje over hoge passen (5200 en 5400) meter...komen we met lichte hoofdpijn aan in Leh (3500m). Op aanraden van een collega komen we aan bij Naro Hotel in Leh, gelukkig super relaxte bedden en eigenlijk iets boven ons budged maar om bij te komen is dit fantastisch. De volgende dag lekker de toerist uit hangen....we blijken hier niet de enige te zijn....Leh ligt wel op de route kaart van Djoser, Shoestring en andere reis-organisaties....maar het is hier erg mooi dus we geven ze groot gelijk. Je kunt vanaf hier de Kardung-La pas afdalen per mountainbike. Met 5600 meter is dit de hoogtste pas ter wereld voor auto's....dus daarom willen wij dit wel doen. Anneke is overgehaald door het feit dat deze hoogte goed is voor onze aclimatisatie voor als we gaan trekken. Na ... read more

I boarded a shared cab from Leh, that left for Pangong Lake at 6 in the morning. The lake is more like a land locked sea, shared by the countries of India and China; with the larger portion falling in China. It was a five hour ride, which started getting beautiful once we crossed Karu and started gaining height. This time, unlike the other tourists in the cab, I wasn't bothered about photographing the view. Since I had already been in Ladakh for quite a few days and had taken a lot of pictures; I just thought of enjoying the view. Of all the passes that one encounters in Ladakh, the ascent to Chang La (17586 ft) is said to be the steepest. The road for the last few kilometres was not in a good condition, ... read more

The previous day was exciting and eventful. We rode our bikes on the SriNagar Leh highway, crossed the Magnetic Hill, visited the Patthar Sahab Gurudwara (one constructed and maintained by the Army), the Sangam (where the Indus and Zanskar rivers meet); rode back to Leh and then took the Leh Manali highway and visited the Hemis monastery. Of course, earlier in the day we took the wrong turn and headed for a military camp; we were stopped at the entry gate itself and asked to return back. But when one is on a trip, where so much happens at the same time, one doesn't really get time to think about everything. We left around an hour before noon passing by small villages on the outskirts of Leh city. Children smiled and waved at us and we ... read more

We had only booked 4 nights in the guesthouse and so were supposed to be leaving Leh today but we loved it so much we decided we wanted more time here. We searched for the cheapest flight out of Leh - to save us a few days and an even more terrifying bus journey and then arranged another 4 nights staying with Yoda. We took the long walk through the town and up the many steps to a Buddhist monument called Shanti Stupa. We were still suffering from the altitude so again took our time. The stupa was built by Japanese monks in 1991 to promote world peace. Didn't really work, but it looks lovely, and again the views of Leh were incredible. In the evening we went to book a Tibetan cooking class and then ... read more