Delhi to Leh Ladakh BTS EP 1- Day1 - Acclimatise in leh, take it easy.
Monsoon has reached to Ladakh which never used to happen It would never rain here. Would it? No, never Hello! Right now, I'm at Terminal-3, Delhi Our flight to Leh is at 7:00 AM Right now, it's 5:30 AM It's early morning time in Delhi Today, I reached Airport at 5:00 AM I felt I'd gone late in reaching Because those who're supposed to arrive at.. Delhi Airport T-3 Terminal they'd reach two & half hours before Everything happened so seamless Owing to our sign up to Digi Yatra, our time got saved by that. Otherwise also, there was less crowd at the airport Less means I'd never witnessed so much less crowd ..in the last 3 years of my aerial travel Our check-in took just 25 minutes , including security check up Right now, it's 5:30 AM Our flight is at 7:00 AM We've a lot of spare time to relax Mathura, Vrindavan & Govardhan I'd been there multiple times, but..
I never explored all those places.. ..which you showed in your episodes Then, I also visited those same places Very nice It's nice to meet you So nice to meet you For the last 2-3 years, I've continuously longing for Ladakh tour Owing to some reason or other, our program was getting postponed So finally we decided upon July 2023 One month before from now.. when I was planning my tour Then one thought hit my mind Let me postpone Ladakh for 1 more year.. and go to Lahaul this time rather From Lahaul, I mean to say..
Via La Pass, Sach Pass we make exit into Chamba Means, we'll start our journey from Manali Some part of the Lahaul will come But instead of turning towards Ladakh we'll turn to Sach Pass Then, I learnt La road isn't that good Roads aren't well built yet over there So, I thought to postpone till next year And, as originally planned, let's go to Ladakh For the last 4-5 days, it's been continuously raining in Himachal that caused a lot of loss of life & property Bridges got washed away by rain water For that reason, I cancelled by road journey So, now, we're going by air Generally, I get Economy Ticket This time I got Premium Economy Ticket This ticket cost me Rs 3500/- more ..in comparison to the Economy ticket Now, its advantage is.. it has more legspace with priority check-in Normally, 15 kg luggage is allowed Now, 20 kg is allowed in this ticket and hand baggage 10 kg instead of usual 7 kg. Outside the Leh airport parking, we've met with our subscribers Namaste! It's good to know that.. you've come to Ladakh for doing cycling Are you coming here for the first time? No sir, it's for the 3rd time This time, we're starting from Leh, up to Umling La Pass Umling La is situated at 19100 feet Umling La is located at a higher elevation..
than Khardung La. Isn't it? Yes Is it called Highest Motorable Pass? Sir, it's the Highest Motorable Pass of the world Khardung La has around 17000 feet elevation while it is at 19000 feet above sea level It's located at a great height How big is your group? We've a group of around 50 people 50 Nice Means, you'll acclimatize for 1-2 days And then, you'll start your cycling 30 days are reserved for cycling & riding 2 days are for acclimatization I'm thinking of taking note of their itinerary Since we're also going to travel for 12-14 days In between, if we get a chance we'd also cycle for a few km upon requesting you To see how one feels while cycling in the hills How different this experience turns out to be! Tsomoriri Lake is very beautiful We're also planning to visit that lake It's extremely beautiful Did you come here earlier.. in this same weather? Around the month of July Weather in July is considered best here Cycling is done mostly in July Our first cycling Lamayuru trip was also in July Where is Lamayuru located? It is called Moonland As its rocks are said to shine in moonlight Research is also going on as to .. what is the reason behind their luster Lamayuru It's not included in our itinerary This is a good place Many foreigners throng this place How far is Lamayuru from Leh? It's around 80 kms from here People say there's one Lama over there That place got flooded with water which he stopped by some means Owing to which water got drained That's why one part of the mountain is of a different color while the other part is of different color I'll try to add Lamayuru in our itinerary It's nice to meet you both My good wishes are for your cycling journey We do have a motto as well Save Environment Do cycling Save plants & trees We're also urging people to donate their eyes You're promoting a righteous thought Thank you sir Supremely sublime It's nice to meet you Thank you We've booked a homestay in Leh which is located near Karzu road We hired a prepaid taxi from the airport Brother will drop us to our homestay Distance wise it's 6 km away from here This entire luggage is ours Distance is 6 km from here Prepaid charge from here is Rs. 550/- This is parking where we're standing right now And the interesting fact is that..
One prepaid taxi booking counter ...was made in the car I really found it interesting That car is parked over there From there, we got our ticket Ok, that's good Right now, the temperature is 18*C How much difference will be there .. in the temperature of night and now? It's a bit cold these days because the weather has changed a bit the clouds are full It's raining continuously The flight that got canceled three days back is because of this rain! It's because of rain Today I met three people on the flight They told me that Their ticket was of 3 days earlier their flight was canceled So they had to stay in Delhi for three days Now today they have come No flight came at all from there for two days No flight arrived? no one came you are right See, this is surprising Today, on the thirteenth of July, we are one or two km ahead of Leh airport. so we're seeing snow before us And this brother is also telling that it snowed three days back over there It snowed It rained down here in Leh We've processed the booking in Karzu Road Changspa Now, this is a homestay It doesn't look or feel like a typical home stay.
Feels like kind of a boutique hotel anyways that would be a different thing As soon as we got here, we got our luggage reached to the room Our room is on the second floor above. and here's their reception where I am sitting their restaurant is behind this side I told them, let's have a cup of tea first. then we will go to the room Means after that I will make you visit the room so the sun has come out bright Now see what mistake many people make when they come to Leh then stay in their room for a couple of hours then will start walking At this moment It's barely been one and a half hour since we arrived so I'm perfectly fine but you think now two hours later, I go on for a kilometer walk When I come back, the headache will start after that the pain will increase so It is said that you should leave yourself to acclimatize for 36 hours which means that Stay in your room and if you want to take a walk then Wherever you are staying, walk around the compound of that place. like where we are staying We'll have our lunch here So we will take a walk in the compound and for now Let's go to our room and check some emails.
rest sunshine here sunshine is scorching temperature-wise. it is ok It's 20 * C But the sun pinches, so it's better to wear goggles. And apply sunscreen, I guess. This happens in the hills its great and let's drink tea and join you again within some time They gave us a room on the second floor accommodation is good It's also spacious and the washroom is here It's also good means Has spacious washroom the room is neat and clean I booked it through Airbnb Its charge is Rs 4100/- per day 4100 wow from below I didn't guess it that What would we get to see all around? because we're on the ground floor Look at the snow atop the hill I want to have early lunch today As it's already 11:00 AM now I thought to finish my lunch by around 1:00 PM What could we eat? They told us they cultivate a small farm they'd handpick some vegetable from here Along with lentil or potato whatever we feel like eating So, we'll stay in our room for around 45 minutes then, we'll go down And then we'll have our lunch Our intention is that.. we'd do our lunch maximum by 1:30 PM Then I want to take a nap for a few hours As per the rule, it's not suggested that you come to Leh & take siesta Because sleeping sends your body to rest mode So, acclimatization then stops for that period I slept at around 11:30 PM last night And I woke up at 2:30 AM in the morning So, I couldn't get proper sleep I slept only for 3 hours last night What is it? What do we call it? Bok Choy It's used more in Chinese food. Isn't it? Will you make vegetable out of its leaves? Yes Ok, that's a good thing They got the fresh leaves from the farm And prepare the vegetable out of it Will you prepare lentil along with it? Yes, sir Dal & rice are best Are you both cooks? Yes Ok Come Till the time main course gets ready they've got Barley Soup for us I still remember when last time I went to Spiti I learnt about Barley over there And now even in the Ladakh as well Here, Barley is cultivated as well as..
people like this kind of soup here I was watching it being made in the kitchen They used black peas to make this soup Look at these black peas I'd seen it for the first time in my Spiti Tour These are very hard peas They're first softened in pressure cooker for 4-5 whistles Then finally they're cooked They've mixed these peas into the soup If I talk about its taste I'm really liking black peas taste They're very tasty Our tongue needs adapting to the taste.. ..of such type of the Barley Soup after drinking it for 3-4 times If someone drinks it regularly.. ..then that's a separate case. You'll start liking it after tasting it 2-3 times Nice Moments ago, I was asking them in the kitchen when they make this soup Barley is in which form then They use Sattu form of Barley Which you're seeing right on the table So, First, Sattu is made out of it ..after following a lengthy process After that the Sattu is used in making this soup We'll start from Bok Choy Look at it It's clear from the sight that it's simple food. They've added garlic to the Bok Choy dish Look at the chopped pieces of garlic in it With a little amount of salt & turmeric Along with that, Turnip They picked the turnip before us from the farm and separated the leaves Then they quickly prepared this vegetable Look at this It is local Khambir bread Local bread roti People like having this bread here I saw them prepare Khambir in the kitchen They put it on the pan The bread started swelling a little Then more heat was supplied to it It began swelling fully I got to learn from them How come is it swelling so much? What is special in it? They told me One day before.. They prepare the bread dough overnight , adding some yeast to it Means, they knead a little amount of..
..yeast into the flour first and leave it for fermentation Though it's originally wheat flour it develops sour taste upon fermentation This is what we came to know about Is it right? Isn't it? Lovely! It is a thick bread It is not a thin bread I'm having had a new thing Freshness in the Bok Choy However, we saw them .. ..hand-pick it from their farm But we're also feeling that freshness while having it in a cooked form Very nice There's a little sourness of yeast in it It's chewy In the coming days, I will try.. tasting Khambir regularly on alternate days Utterly delicious Oh, lovely! They've also brought rice Very nice Very nice Some people pronounce it- "Shaljam" Some people call it "Shalgam" We've called it Shalgam since our chidlhood This is very well made The best thing is..
they've put whole green chili into it Its flavor is also coming out well And the good thing is this dish is made of leaves I literally enjoyed it Amazing! Very nice! Dal is super tasty It has a simple taste I'm getting only dal's taste in the dal Otherwise, what happens more often.. People add too much spices to the dal and overall taste dominates spices over dal This dal has 100% taste of the dal per se There's a traditional set up behind us Just like people have their homes in Ladakh People dine together on the floor Same set-up is made behind us Only after finishing our meal.. have we realized not having lettuce Ok, no problem We'll have it now A little amount of black pepper & salt along with the freshness of the lettuce It has a very juicy taste Our today's pace has been too slow We're palpably feeling every passing minute Usually when I travel, there's an itinerary in my mind what all are we going to do morning to night? We never sit in a relaxed manner just like now This is a very different thing So, now After finishing our lunch, we'll stroll around outside for a few minutes Then, I'll sleep in my room As I had already told you that.. I was going to sleep after my lunch I've taken rest for around 2 hours I'd earlier told you as well That balcony on the 2nd floor ..is where our room is located Then I woke up I've also drunk my tea Now, it's 6:00 PM Now, I am wishing to explore the places.. ..located in the vicinity of this homestay Just as we're thinking about it, we got to meet Mr. David
He is standing with us right now So, he owns this property Mr. David & his wife runs this homestay I really liked your place Thank you We don't want to go too far As we've arrived here today only We'd stroll around 50-100 meters only Ok, I will show you round the place Let's check out the outer ambiance Ever since we arrived here, we've not stepped out of this gate Ever since the morning time It's good walking around a little Walking around 50-100 meters is fine Yes Great! The trees in front of us.. Which one? Are these eucalyptus trees? Yes, these all are eucalyptus trees.
What do we call it in English? Poplar These are poplar trees These are of Russian variety It requires a lot of water to sustain It requires a lot of water You touched upon a topic that.. I've heard there's too much water shortage in Ladakh yes, sir There's a lot of water shortage in Ladakh After listening to you, we're feeling like.. Planting a tree though is a good idea But plant those trees consuming less water Yes, the trees that consume less water So that green cover expands but not at the expense of ground water Yes, ground water be saved White roses are over White roses have withered away White roses are found here These are of yellow color That is pink one over there As I was telling you Yes Rooms are like this These are poplar trees Big ones White one which you just saw Yes The timber is derived from that This one is old poplar This is our original poplar This one is not What does word 'original' imply? Means, the poplar grown in Ladakh That are grown in rocky terrain Oh, really! Yes Tell us one more thing For..
For the sake of comparison In the June-July month, the amount of rain Manali-Shimla receives What per cent of that you experience in Leh? Actually, for the first time, I've heard this year I was reading on my Whatsapp Monsoon has reached Ladakh which never used to happen earlier There's no rain here at all No, there used to be no rain Monsoon confined to other parts of India has now also reached Ladakh Due to Global Warming, what happened.. it lifts up the clouds higher So, the clouds are travelling all the way to Ladakh ..and settle themselves here Previously it's not easy for the clouds.. ..to come over the Himalayas They'd shed everything there Therefore, no rain reached here I'm surprised Few days back before coming here, I saw it in the news I found it quite surprising that..
It's raining in Ladakh Rain fell here in copious quantities ..in the last 4-5 days Owing to that a few flights also got canceled ..of the last 2 days In the morning when the sun was out we didn't feel like wearing sweater Right now, we're putting on a jacket I thought it was wrong if I didn't put it on During evening walk at around 5:30 PM woolen clothes are on In Ladakh, we tend to wear .. ..at least one warm clothing even in summers You'll feel the cold as you stand in a shade But hot sunrays will burn you This is the erratic nature of climate in Ladakh Mantras are written on it We noticed the same thing as we visited Spiti Do the Leh & Spiti have the same language? There's a little bit similarity Not much There's very less similarity Ok They greet you there by saying, "Julley” Here also, we greet with the word "Julley” "Julley” "Julley” also means 'thank you' Say "julley” if you want to thank someone Good bye means, "julley” Hello also means, "julley” I brought you here to show you Ok Is it the carving done on the stone? Yes, it's very old Buddhism entered Ladakh by 2 ways One came from Kashmir Between 6-7 century This statue was carved by Kashmiri sculptors They also brought tenets of Buddhism along Normally, we think that.. Buddhism may have come in Ladakh from Tibet Larger wave of Buddhism came from Tibet In starting, before Tibet, Buddhism came in Ladakh from Kashmir Yes, Buddhism came first in Ladakh from Kashmir The carving is very beautiful It's very old Carving on a single stone Yes Is there any carving on that side also? Yes, there's a carving on that side as well This is Future Buddha 'Maitreya' Historical Buddha is carved on this side Ok Shakyamuni (the sage of the Shakya clan) Nice Different historians have their own account Some says it is made between 7-9 AD Some says it's made before that It's made between that period By a rough estimate, How many hotels, guest houses, homestays.. ..are there in total in Leh region? There're so many Any number you want to float I don't know exactly There might be over thousand Oh, God! One thousand in such a small region Yes Today, there'll be a good sunset With these clouds Looking so nice The interior roads are also well made This road has recently been surfaced with asphalt Good So, these are the guest houses Ok, names are written on the board Yes Yes, their names are written here These are our locally grown poplars That are grown even in rocky areas Wherever there're rocks As they need very less amount of water Give them water twice a year And they will grow This is a rocky terrain Yes, these type of poplars grow in rocky areas People grow them If you see, what happens is..
You needn't cut these trees and re-grow them somewhere else They naturally develop offshoots For example, this is the offshoot of this felled tree Same thing is also here Yes, just like this one Its offshoot is right over there Ok, they grow on their own Yes, they grow all by themselves You needn't grow them separately These are local poplars What is that in front of us? That is Shanti Stupa It offers a nice aerial view in the evening We need to go there in our car. Don't we? Parking is at some distance So you've to walk up a little Many cars are parked over there Yes That show many tourists throng that place Yes, many tourists go there The water you're seeing in the morning Its source is a melting glacier We use this water for irrigation purposes It flows down before merging with Indus Indus enters Leh from a small village.. .. on the border named Demchok. Demchok is in Ladakh. Isn't it? Yes, it lies in Ladakh Where is it coming from further above? Yes, it originates from Mansarovar (Tibet) It drains the Leh region before entering the PoK From PoK, it flows further to Pakistan before emptying into the Arabian Sea Nice That hill in front of us looks so beautiful Sunlight is falling upon its snow-clad crown It makes a nice spectacle See, now, we're standing at such a place There's no here except for both of us We're only hearing one sound that's the bubbling sound of the river Otherwise, it's a pin drop silence all around We're recognizing the sound of moving water It's a pleasant experience Ok, ji, let's go Be careful while landing your step I checked my emails in the evening and checked out my social media comments Around 2-3 hours passed in that Then we'd had our dinner Now, I've come into my room Weather is cold outside It's a bit cozy inside the room I've taken off my jacket Though I need to put it on before stepping out It's 10:15 PM right now We're calling it a day here We're in Leh tomorrow as well as day after tomorrow We're not going to do much activity tomorrow Tomorrow, we'll try to relax through the day Day after tomorrow, we'll extensively explore Leh As of now, I bid bye-bye to all of you Thanks for your time!
2023-09-09 02:34
