"My 2 cents" - Ladakh trip

I wasn't sure what I was signing myself up for when I decided on a trip to Ladakh. All I knew was I needed a break, the hills beckoned, and I had good company. We could have headed anywhere, but chose Ladakh. It helped that the trip seemed all planned and details taken care of, courtesy Prateek Deo. All we had to do was go along.

Ladakh is meant to be experienced and not merely seen. Nothing could have prepared me enough. Right from the lush green misty valleys of Manali to the startling sand-laden mountains of Hunder, we never 'saw it coming' until each landscape actually presented itself before us. Dramatic in very sense of the world...all we could do was gape at each picture-perfect scene and click away. It's another matter that pics do absolutely no justice to the place. 

Copper blue skies and fluffy clouds, towering mountains, golden snow caps, canyons, winding roads, army convoys, chai and some more chai, thukpa and momos, maggi noodles at 10000 ft, freezing winds, the placid Pangong, yaks, perfect sunrises, surreal sunsets, shooting stars and the Milky Way, gardens in a riot of colours, eating ripe apples and apricots off the trees, fragile gompas, long walks leaving lungs screaming for the crisp mountain air, cold clear streams, torn shoes, camel rides on the high-altitude deserts, rafting on the Indus, chilled noses and rosy complexions, silences broken by birds chirping, lingering laughter, silly jokes and camaraderie causing aching tummies, snowflakes at 18000ft! 

 

 Ladakh was all that and so much more. I came away humbled, by the simple Indian Army soldiers along the way, by the Khardung La pass, by the grandeur of the mountains, by the Milky Way. And so much richer by the experience and the friends I made. This trip is among my most cherished, magical in every sense of the word.

Would not have been possible without Thakur's (aka Prateek) efforts. Owe you a big one for this, Mr Deo :) Thank you for the music and the memories!

-Written by Sabita
Sabita was one of the enthusiastic participant of the Ladakh Aug 2007 trip. Professionally shes a technical writer.