We spent the evening in a Government office in Leh getting permissions to visit thePangong Lake that is right at the Indo-China Border. With our ID's in their record, they know who all are headed to the unsafe areas- that are not really mant for tourists at all.
Next morning, we set out on our journey to the most serene clearwater lake in the Asian region, which was located, ironically, at the Border of two not so friendly, countries. The unsafe border is where,we planned to stay the night. The six hour journey provided the most unique pictures, to everyones delight. The barren mountain to our right contrasted with the lush green valley down below. A view so vast and multi-leveled that it was not so easily clicked. Which is allright. For some sights memories and expereinces are best not clicked or captured. Once imprinted upon the minds eye- they don't just remain there, they linger, change whimsically and evolve like living beings- ready to be beckoned by the time at anytime.
The sun started losing warmth, we crossed little streams while driving on the base of the broad valley .. streams- which originated from ice melting at the peaks and trickling down the slopes. Around four kms before our destination, the road had been cut off by a seasonal downstream that no car could cross. everyone was turning back. Our driver was upfront, ' There is no way the car can cross this. I am turning back to stay at the nearest camp, 15km behind us.' We had the option that we could either turn back or we cross the stream manually and walk down the rest of the 4kms.It would take us one hour to get to the Hotel at the Lake.
We didn't feel like we had a choice, turning back to the camp would mean missing out on the whole Lake experience. We picked up our basic luggage- one backpack each and decided to cross the stream and reach the Hotel on foot. The driver would come for us early in the morning, when the stream will be at its weakest. 'When you come to the fork in the road, take the road that goes up!' Said the driver as he sped away for the night.
After the tedious task of crossing the ice-cold and rocky stream, our shoes were soaked with ice cold water. We started walking down the road at the bottom of the Broadest valley, with its peak ablaze with the setting rays of the sun. I brought out the very handy, instant energy source, easily digestible Chocolates and some dry fruits. Our shoes were not going to dry out, we had gotten used to the 'squish' sound on every step.. We kept walking for half an hour on the road,crossed a tiny stream, and right there, we lost the road. It just wasn’t there! All we had infront of us was a steep mountain. And as if an image has been photoshoped, the road had been deleted. Just for fun!
By now, the sky had turned the deepest blue, with a zillion stars. It was going to be moonless night. Beautiful. But empty. The barren mountains were looking down upon us like silent killers. Suddenly our trip was over and the adventure had begun. But we didn't know that just yet.
We were five people – lost in the dark- close to the Indo-China border - with one dying torch- no compass- no direction - no network coverage. 'Is this the fork in the road the driver was talking about?' We all felt that was not the case. All we could see was a steep mountain. NO road whatsoever. We wandered around- to search for the lost road. Frantically. We all split up in different directions and started to look around. Half an hour later- these were the findings. Nothing towards the top or the bottom. Right ahead, the mountain- which was turning at 90 degrees was a blind corner. There was no way that a car could have continued in either of the four directions. 'Did we go on the wrong road?' No. There was just one road, teh one we had been walking on. 'Have we missed the fork and come to the dead end?' 'Should we trace our way back?' What good would that do? It was getting dark and our torch was dying. What if we miss the fork again! We'll be stuck there. Instead of here. Same Difference.
'Does it mean that we will have to stay here the entire night? And wait for someone to fetch us in the morning?' 'We have no blankets'. Survival stories from Nat Geo and Discovery started coming to the mind."will they find our frozen corpses in the morning? Come on ! its not THAT cold!' 'Maybe a case of hypothermia- frozen feet- they"ll cut off a black toe or two!'
The unlikelihood of being in the situation thrilled me to my bones (and still does). Maybe losing a toe or two is not that bad, atleast we will be alive... It took us a WHILE and a half (and my frantic prayer directed to the million stars) to find the road again. Apparently, it was around the blind corner. We had to walk on a three feet wide walkway and bend over backwards under a ledge to make it across to the other side of the mountain. And lo and Behold! We were on the road again, going downhill, with all its hairpin turns in place.
How the car would traverse what we had just done, will remain a mystery to all of us.
It is safe to say that it is impossible.
While we walked in the dark silence, our torch had died and our eyes had become accustomed to the moonless darkness. Moreover, our driver had hinted that we should not be too conspicuous- it was a shoot at sight area. Afterall, what business did five youngsters have, walking down the Valley road with backpacks. You either bike it down or go by car. Why would anyone Walk? Fear was not only of the elements, it was of the manmade kind as well. One of those moments when nothing need be spoken..we all had to just follow the road.
An expedition.. where all of us were united by a common aim- To make it, alive. We were in a window of time where the trinkets of urbanization had been brushed out of the mind like litter being swept off to the side of the road and pulled up by a Vacuum Cleaner.
Moving along, we did come to a fork in the road. The valley had opened out and we were facing a range in front of us, probably 30 kms away. Right then, we all stopped in our tracks! For we could hear Dogs barking!! 'Hooray! this means there is civilization somewhere close!'...'oh wait! They couldn't be wild dogs!" .. But we followed our instincts and took the road that went downwards. For that was the direction the barks were coming from.And right then we saw a lightbulb! In the distance, we all had the instinct to run to it, but the air being so sparse on oxygen that it was physically impossible.
We came across what was an Army barrack. Through the windows we could see soldiers in their three teir beds, watching Cricket. India was playing! The guard at the entrance checked our Id's, was super alert and quick to refuse entry. He asked us a million questions as to why we were where we were but softened a little when he saw a girl as a part of the entourage.
He asked us to take the road that goes up and assured us that a Hotel was indeed in place. Feeling reassured we started walking again. And yet another fork in the road! We took the one that went up! The valley was pitch dark. We could only sense that it had spread out and there was a vast expanse.
The Hotel- Was a one room structure with a timber and thatch roof. The owner/ housekeeper lived in his Yurt fifty steps away. He shook his head in amazement as he found out that we have walked down in the last four hours. He poured us the metallic hot water to drink. He put some Maggi to boil as our dinner.
Thirty and dehydrated to the core,our throat was so parched that we couldn't even feel like eating. time to take out the shoes, we had cold feet- but no black toes! Life is good.
Half heartedly eating the Maggi noodles, we fell asleep easily.
The next morning, we woke up to realize the real expanse of the Valley.
Pangong Lake was breathtakingly beautiful. The clear waters reflected the clear blu sky. Synergy. The water saline, ice cold and crystal clear- you could count the pebbles at the base. Just the sheer scale of the setting was worth the hassle we had been through and more.
to be continued..
Next morning, we set out on our journey to the most serene clearwater lake in the Asian region, which was located, ironically, at the Border of two not so friendly, countries. The unsafe border is where,we planned to stay the night. The six hour journey provided the most unique pictures, to everyones delight. The barren mountain to our right contrasted with the lush green valley down below. A view so vast and multi-leveled that it was not so easily clicked. Which is allright. For some sights memories and expereinces are best not clicked or captured. Once imprinted upon the minds eye- they don't just remain there, they linger, change whimsically and evolve like living beings- ready to be beckoned by the time at anytime.
The sun started losing warmth, we crossed little streams while driving on the base of the broad valley .. streams- which originated from ice melting at the peaks and trickling down the slopes. Around four kms before our destination, the road had been cut off by a seasonal downstream that no car could cross. everyone was turning back. Our driver was upfront, ' There is no way the car can cross this. I am turning back to stay at the nearest camp, 15km behind us.' We had the option that we could either turn back or we cross the stream manually and walk down the rest of the 4kms.It would take us one hour to get to the Hotel at the Lake.
We didn't feel like we had a choice, turning back to the camp would mean missing out on the whole Lake experience. We picked up our basic luggage- one backpack each and decided to cross the stream and reach the Hotel on foot. The driver would come for us early in the morning, when the stream will be at its weakest. 'When you come to the fork in the road, take the road that goes up!' Said the driver as he sped away for the night.
After the tedious task of crossing the ice-cold and rocky stream, our shoes were soaked with ice cold water. We started walking down the road at the bottom of the Broadest valley, with its peak ablaze with the setting rays of the sun. I brought out the very handy, instant energy source, easily digestible Chocolates and some dry fruits. Our shoes were not going to dry out, we had gotten used to the 'squish' sound on every step.. We kept walking for half an hour on the road,crossed a tiny stream, and right there, we lost the road. It just wasn’t there! All we had infront of us was a steep mountain. And as if an image has been photoshoped, the road had been deleted. Just for fun!
By now, the sky had turned the deepest blue, with a zillion stars. It was going to be moonless night. Beautiful. But empty. The barren mountains were looking down upon us like silent killers. Suddenly our trip was over and the adventure had begun. But we didn't know that just yet.
We were five people – lost in the dark- close to the Indo-China border - with one dying torch- no compass- no direction - no network coverage. 'Is this the fork in the road the driver was talking about?' We all felt that was not the case. All we could see was a steep mountain. NO road whatsoever. We wandered around- to search for the lost road. Frantically. We all split up in different directions and started to look around. Half an hour later- these were the findings. Nothing towards the top or the bottom. Right ahead, the mountain- which was turning at 90 degrees was a blind corner. There was no way that a car could have continued in either of the four directions. 'Did we go on the wrong road?' No. There was just one road, teh one we had been walking on. 'Have we missed the fork and come to the dead end?' 'Should we trace our way back?' What good would that do? It was getting dark and our torch was dying. What if we miss the fork again! We'll be stuck there. Instead of here. Same Difference.
'Does it mean that we will have to stay here the entire night? And wait for someone to fetch us in the morning?' 'We have no blankets'. Survival stories from Nat Geo and Discovery started coming to the mind."will they find our frozen corpses in the morning? Come on ! its not THAT cold!' 'Maybe a case of hypothermia- frozen feet- they"ll cut off a black toe or two!'
The unlikelihood of being in the situation thrilled me to my bones (and still does). Maybe losing a toe or two is not that bad, atleast we will be alive... It took us a WHILE and a half (and my frantic prayer directed to the million stars) to find the road again. Apparently, it was around the blind corner. We had to walk on a three feet wide walkway and bend over backwards under a ledge to make it across to the other side of the mountain. And lo and Behold! We were on the road again, going downhill, with all its hairpin turns in place.
How the car would traverse what we had just done, will remain a mystery to all of us.
It is safe to say that it is impossible.
While we walked in the dark silence, our torch had died and our eyes had become accustomed to the moonless darkness. Moreover, our driver had hinted that we should not be too conspicuous- it was a shoot at sight area. Afterall, what business did five youngsters have, walking down the Valley road with backpacks. You either bike it down or go by car. Why would anyone Walk? Fear was not only of the elements, it was of the manmade kind as well. One of those moments when nothing need be spoken..we all had to just follow the road.
An expedition.. where all of us were united by a common aim- To make it, alive. We were in a window of time where the trinkets of urbanization had been brushed out of the mind like litter being swept off to the side of the road and pulled up by a Vacuum Cleaner.
Moving along, we did come to a fork in the road. The valley had opened out and we were facing a range in front of us, probably 30 kms away. Right then, we all stopped in our tracks! For we could hear Dogs barking!! 'Hooray! this means there is civilization somewhere close!'...'oh wait! They couldn't be wild dogs!" .. But we followed our instincts and took the road that went downwards. For that was the direction the barks were coming from.And right then we saw a lightbulb! In the distance, we all had the instinct to run to it, but the air being so sparse on oxygen that it was physically impossible.
We came across what was an Army barrack. Through the windows we could see soldiers in their three teir beds, watching Cricket. India was playing! The guard at the entrance checked our Id's, was super alert and quick to refuse entry. He asked us a million questions as to why we were where we were but softened a little when he saw a girl as a part of the entourage.
He asked us to take the road that goes up and assured us that a Hotel was indeed in place. Feeling reassured we started walking again. And yet another fork in the road! We took the one that went up! The valley was pitch dark. We could only sense that it had spread out and there was a vast expanse.
The Hotel- Was a one room structure with a timber and thatch roof. The owner/ housekeeper lived in his Yurt fifty steps away. He shook his head in amazement as he found out that we have walked down in the last four hours. He poured us the metallic hot water to drink. He put some Maggi to boil as our dinner.
Thirty and dehydrated to the core,our throat was so parched that we couldn't even feel like eating. time to take out the shoes, we had cold feet- but no black toes! Life is good.
Half heartedly eating the Maggi noodles, we fell asleep easily.
The next morning, we woke up to realize the real expanse of the Valley.
Pangong Lake was breathtakingly beautiful. The clear waters reflected the clear blu sky. Synergy. The water saline, ice cold and crystal clear- you could count the pebbles at the base. Just the sheer scale of the setting was worth the hassle we had been through and more.
to be continued..
interesting blog...cheers!
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