Jullay! (Greetings in Ladakhi language)

The final scene of the movie "3 idiots", where Kareena Kapoor came searching for Phunsukh Wangdu on her scooter, that's Ladakh. Had a hard time packing for this trip as I bought a 30L backpack, not knowing that we were going to decide on somewhere freezing cold. Kudos to myself for packing a pair of winter boot & few winter gears, plus outfit needed for the Golden Triangle's heat in that 30L backpack lol! 

Leh is the largest city at Ladakh region, which is where most tourists stay. Landed at a really small airport, arrival hall is probably the size of the boarding area at KLIA 2 and is one of the highest commercial airport in the world at 3,256m above sea level (Genting is only at 1,865m above sea level). So be prepared for altitude sickness upon arrival. Didn't notice that I was already experiencing altitude sickness (maybe was too overwhelmed by the almost subzero temperature), until when I had to walk to the guesthouse from the car, I could not focus on walking straight and almost fell into huge dug out holes for repair works. So, tourists are usually advised to rest & acclimatise on Day 1 & 2, but we were stubborn and insisted to start our day on Day 2.

We underestimated the temperature as well, it says 16°C during the day when we google searched and I happily wore my flipflops down the plane and just a scarf wrapped around my shoulder. But my toes and fingers lost its senses from that short walk from the plane to the shutter bus because it was 3°C!

So, abit of Leh - it's like a dessert, rains probably only once or twice a year. We were there in November, temperature drops to subzero in the evening and further drops to -35°C at night comes January. It once dropped to -15°C during one night of our stay, and do pray hard that your hotel electricity do not trip while you bath, otherwise say hello to the freezing cold water. Electricity cuts come and go very often in Leh, same goes to internet connection. 

There are more militants than civilians in Leh as it's situated at the borders of Pakistan & China. Militaries walk around in snippers, and we once saw a rifle. But because it is heavily protected, Leh is very safe and according to locals, it is almost crime free.

Here's to some of our memorable experiences in Leh:

1. Vomitted several times on two separate days - combo of altitude & motion sickness

Our initial plan was to travel Kashmir for 4 days, but due to the increasing tension at the Pakistan border in Kashmir, we had to change it to Leh at the very last minute. Hence, cramping 3 full days for Leh was no joke as we didnt have time to rest and acclimatise. Fought with the agency via whatsapp to allow us to do so, but we were so worried that our guide will murder us in Leh out of frustration. Lols! But the actual guide (Sam) & driver in Leh (Jimmy) was so sweet & nice! They were always checking on how we feel, bringing an oxygen tank along and brought us to their local pharmacy to buy a super effective altitude / motion sickness pill. The motion sickness pill I brought from home didn't work at all.

Roads to the destination on Day 2 (1.5 hours one way to Khardung La) & Day 3 (3-4 hours one way to Pangong Tso) were really winding. More often than not, the drive was on rocky surface. No picture of the rocky surface, because it's rocky lah, how to take picture. Open eyes also wanna vomit already. I shook so much in the car till my fitbit reached 30k steps on Day 3.

2. The journey between the himalaya mountains were breathtaking

So beautiful LEH!! It's sooo majestic that we were lost for words. We sat quietly in the car, absorbing this crazily beautiful view (except when we had to vomit) while Tu Jo Mila (song from my favourite bollywood movie - Bajrangi Bhaijaan) was playing at the background in the car. Totally matches the mood. Whatever you see here is just 5% of the real experience.

3. Stepped foot on the highest motorable pass in the world

There are some disputes about Khardung La being the highest motorable road in the world at 5,359m above sea level, but who cares. Journey there was beautiful and Caryn had her first snow experience on her birthday, YAY! And we took picture with the sign that says "Highest Motorable Road In the World" on Caryn's birthday, YAY again! Foreign tourists must get an innerline permit before going to Khardung La, which can be processed within a day. Find out more from your guide or your guesthouse staff.

 

Caryn brought her own party hat from Malaysia. Jimmy dropped us off at the cake house in town to get Caryn a birthday cupcake, while he went around other shops hunting for candles. So sweet of him!

4. Visiting the lake which was made popular by the movie - 3 Idiots

The journey to Pangong Tso was far, but then again, one can never get bored of the drive through the himalayas. Some places were snowing, some places were dry, some places had bulls, yaks, mountain sheeps & mountain people walking alongside your car. Same like Khardung La, innerline permit is required for Pangong Tso.

Behind this lake was actually restaurants with Rancho's name and face all over. Overrated!

5. Be accompanied by animals when walking on the streets

Unlike the typical cities we know (except for cities in India), Leh has donkeys, bulls, cows crossing the roads. So becareful when you open the car door, we almost knocked a bull down once.

Our first time seeing a donkey, so must see close up lor.

6. The long drive with Jimmy was fun!

Stereotyping locals from Leh, Jimmy has a huge genre of music in his car playlist, from the latest hits to romance to bollywood to jazz to pop, not kidding! We were mindblown, better than spotify ok! Hired him as a driver, but DJ came into the package as well. We really could not ask for a better driver, who eventually became our friend. He was protective, goes the extra mile to please our random requests, seriously the best! He has a good eye for photography too, totally to our advantage! Below were some random places he brought us to:

Naan served on newspaper for breakfast from this local "mamak".

Brought us to some of his personal favourite spots to take photos

Shortlisted one of his favourite monessary for us for a "been there, seen that" picture. There were many monessaries in Ladakh, but our limited time in Ladakh did not allow us to hop from one monessary to the other.

7. Unwinding each day in a city built from sun-dried mud bricks

We spent most of our evenings in this mud city talking to locals. It's interesting to know the origins of these locals, many whom came Leh to work from other parts of Himalayas. Locals from different parts of Himalayas were so eager to share their customs and I can't stop falling in love with the beautiful soul each local has. The staff in the guesthouse were so hospitable as well, constantly feeding us as if we were starved since the day we were born lol! And all these were for free!! (This was also one of the reason why we vomitted on the winding road, we were overly fed. Haha!)

Masala chai tea & a slice of cake at Brazil Cafe with the best view ever, better than any observation tower around the world.

8. Be entertained by all the punny signboards on the way to Khardung La & Pangong Tso

Leh, you are filled with humour leh!

Picture credit to Caryn (who is full of puns as well)

Our 4 days (3 full days to be exact) in Leh was a little too short. Ideally, one should spend about 5 - 6 days in Ladakh and travel further up to Nubra Valley from Khardung La (or whichever route your guide advises you). Do drop me a comment together with your email address should you want our guide's contact number for Leh.