Description
It was September 2013. I got a phone call from my friend who is a Major in the Indian Army. He had been transferred from Pathankot to Leh. For the sake of confidentiality, I cannot use his real name. So, I will call him Abhay; Major Abhay. Leh is the capital of Ladakh district in India’s northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir. Ladakh: The land of passes; a high altitude cold desert in the rain shadow region of Himalayas that is home to some of the most stunning landscapes on the planet. The first thing that came to my mind was “What a lucky guy to be able to work in such exotic locations!” Once Abhay was in Leh, I casually enquired whether he would host me if I were to tour Ladakh and he immediately agreed. I knew this was not a trip that I could do with my family, considering my daughter was just 2 years old. So, I called up few of my friends from college who were also my roommates during my college days. Gopu and Hari jumped right in while a couple of others were not entirely amused at the plan. One thing led to another and before we knew it, we had arrived at a plan for our Ladakh “pilgrimage”. We decided to skip the peak tourist season (July-August) to avoid the crowds and also the early season (May – June) to avoid the bad roads and numerous water crossings caused by the melting snow. So, September 2014 was picked and we decided to do a Delhi – Srinagar – Kargil – Leh – Manali – Delhi round trip in two weeks. It took us eight months to read through numerous blogs and research various car rental options in Delhi before arriving at the final itinerary. ================================= If you liked this excerpt, enjoy reading short travel memoirs and would like to read more about my experience, I would be pleased no end if you give my book, Himalayas: Through Heaven and Hell in the Hills, a try. It is enrolled in Kindle Unlimited and you can read it for free if you are subscribed to Kindle Unlimited
The Plan
