My Backpacking Story to India Sept 2019 (Day 6&7)

My Backpacking Story to India Sept 2019 (Day 5) 13/9/2019 & (Day 6) 14/9/2019

I woke around 5am to catch the sunrise early in the morning. its freezing cold and honestly,  it is so beautiful. that was the most beautiful sunrise I have even seen. We waited for 2 hr for the sunrise but it is totally worth it. I meditate for 30 minutes when the first sunshine ray touched the tip of my head. It was wonderful experience full with serenity and relaxation. I feel completely free out of everything. I really wish to return to the place just for the scenery.  

The first glimpse of the sunrise which touches the tip of my head. 💗😘😘

After that, we have our breakfast then, we move to continue our journey back to Leh to catch out flight on the next day. Our first pit stop was at Changla pass. Changla is like second highest motorable pass after Khardungla Pass. This place fully covered with snow, oxygen level dropping with temperature reaching negative at afternoon.  You can feel your skin totally dry but extremely cold. Bare in mind that, you might experience shortness in breathing due to AMS. We grab a small glass of  hot coffee from a military stall beside the road.   

• Some info on Changla Pass

"Chang La (also known as Changla) is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 5360m (17,590ft) above the sea level, located in Ladakh, in northern India’s Jammu and Kashmir state. It’s one of the highest mountain roads of the country. Altitude sickness is a common phenomenon here, so you are suggested not to stay there for more than 20 minutes.

Changla Pass is the main gateway for the Changthang Plateau situated in the Himalayas. The pass is located on the 134 km-long (83 mi) road between the Pangong Lake and Leh. Road closures can be frequent, so check conditions before traveling to this area. It is falsely claimed that the pass is named after the supposed sadhu Changla Baba, a myth propagated by the dedication of a temple at the pass to the supposed Changla Baba. The road to the summit is mostly paved, with some gravel sections. It is driveable by all kinds of vehicles. The pass, guarded and maintained by the Indian Army (due its proximity to Chinese border), is covered with snow throughout the year. The best season to drive the pass is summer. The pass remains open for tourists from mid May to October, but the most pleasant months are May and June." 

 Honestly, I saw alot of militaries all along the road whereby I believe they control the area. We even saw a place where they were like probably the place they train for their military duties. One of the main reason is because that is the border to China. 

After that, we move straight to Leh. On the way, we stopped by the school which was populated in 3 idiot movie. The school was partially closed due to  maintenance at that particular time. The kids are still studying there but it was closed for public. The administrator told us the school receives a lot of fund the movie was released and Amit Khan personally contributed a lot for the school especially when it was flooded few years back. The school is quite antique as well because the structures are quite unique probably because it was school that was build quite long time ago.  

That night, we stayed at Leh before our flight to Srinagar. On 14/9/2019m,we took early morning flight to Srinagar. We suppose to travel to Srinagar by road but because Kashmir was under the curfew, we decided to change out plan. We were a bit scared because we need to stay at Srinagar for 4 hours before our next flight to Amritsar. One of the main reason is because of the terrorism threat all over Kashmir at that point of time. Tourism industry one of the main occupation for most of them there. The curfew affected them badly and literally no tourist there at all except us. There are militaries standing like pole all along the road. NO RESTAURANT WAS OPEN. We were super hungry so, we decided to take the risk 😝 God promise, it was super scary to travel all along the road. We hoop on one of the cab to get some food. Kashmir has one of the best briyani of all time but, sadly none of the restaurant was open. The driver was kind enough to get egg briyani from one of his friend who open their restaurant secretly. Their business was terribly affected due to the curfew and we were the only customer for the day i think. The briyani was so freaking good. Damn delicious. 

Upon reaching, we find it is big waste if we did not try the Shikara ride. We have like 3 hour before our flight so, we decided to try the Shikara Ride. I think we paid like RM  8 each of us for 20 min ride. We managed to negotiate the price but,  they really need customer to sustain as well. The lake was not maintained well. It was dirty and we cross by the house boat which we planned to stay in the beginning. The view was really beautiful. 

Honestly, I was expecting more on the cleanliness but there were moss and some rubbish. The Shikara boat guy told us that after the curfew no one is there to clean the lake. It is pretty sad to see honestly.  

Frankly speaking, among all the adventurous things that we have done, tour around a curfew city really need alot of guts, man. HAHAHAH. The driver told us that, few days back there was a riot at the city. Srinagar airport like dead town and I only feel relieve once I reach Amritsar. HAHAHHAHA

Amritsar is like cultural town. I feel like the poverty level also quite high. So many many small kids are working there and I really feel like I need to take care of my things from getting stolen. I stick to my friends and I was being so careful as well. The hotel that we suppose to stay was closed so the hotel guy replaced another hotel for us which is near to the Golden Temple. 😍😍😍😍😍 which was our next destination. This temple has special heart for me. It was so beautiful and the serenity there is real. The temple was remarkable. The aura there can enlighten you so much. 

At the temple, they were giving this water which they call as holy water. That temple was full with people even at late night. We get to know that they serve free food for 24hrs.  wooow Amazing. Honestly, I love the positive  vibe over there. Okay I will continue the Amritsar story for day 8.

My Backpacking Story to India Sept 2019 (Day 5)

 

My Backpacking Story to India Sept 2019 (Day 5) 12/9/2019

 I woke up very early in the morning on that day. Please bear in mind that the sun rises really early in India which is around 5.40am in the morning. The fresh breeze early in the morning is something that I miss so much especially the fresh weather and beautiful flowers over there are so freaking rare. I was sitting at the homestay balcony and enjoying the scenery. 

I can see a variety of flowers over there. 

😊😊😊

Hunder

I did not talk much about Hunder in my previous post so I decided to explain a bit about Hunder. Hunder is a small village which is situated in Leh District of Ladakh on the banks of Shyok River and famous for the sand dunes.     

''Hundar was once the capital of the former Nubra kingdom. There are several ruined buildings, including the ruins of the King's palace, the Langchen Khar ("Elephant Palace"). There is a fort at the top of the hill, called Gula. Hundar also has two Buddhist temples: the white temple (Lhakhang Karpo) and the red temple (Lhakhang Marpo).^[2] Between Hundar and Diskit lie sand dunes.^{[3]     "'}

My advice for whoever would like to stay over at Hunder, please do not book your homestay in advance because it is more expensive if you do an early booking. we did a lot of research before going to India so someplace you need to do early bookings but for rural places like Hunder, it is better for you to search for homestay over there. Our driver did a pretty good job of finding a good homestay for us. We are satisfied with the meal set and also our stay over there. 

After we get ready and have our breakfast at the Homestay, we bid adieu to the aunty and Bintu for taking care well of us. 👱

On the way, we found one place where we can go for an ATV ride on sand dunes. This was my ever experience riding on ATV so as an adrenaline Junkie, this was a pretty awesome experience for me to be honest.  Can you imagine riding ATV in high altitude desert, surrounded by an oasis with a backdrop of snow-capped mountains? Imagine riding the ATV is high speed with an almost 5m  high jump over the sand dune. O.M.G . that was a really awesome and CRAZY experience. We paid RM30 something for 10 mins ride but it is totally worth it. 

That is me with the ATV ☺I probably shouted a lot as well. 😂😂😂😂

Okay Okay Okay. Now is the highlight of the trip

Pangong Lake

Pangong Lake also is known as Pangong Tso is a beautiful endorheic lake situated in the Himalayas and is 134 km long, extending from India to China. Pangong Lake is situated at a height of 4350 m and is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the country. The beauty and allure of this lake have attracted people from all over the country and beyond. The lake is said to be in the process of being identified as a wetland with international significance under the Ramsar Convention and if everything goes as expected then Pangong Lake will be the first in South Asia to be a trans-boundary wetland and that too under this convention.

The one factor that makes this Lake so popular is the fact that it keeps changing colors. Situated in the Himalayan range it is approximately 140 km from Leh in Jammu and Kashmir. The name of the lake Pangong was got from the Tibetan word Banggong Co which means a narrow and enchanted lake. And now you know that the lake has got its name rightfully. You will know this when you visit the beautiful lake of Pangong. You are sure to be enchanted by the charm. And because the lake is a long stretch, one-third area of the lake lies within our country and the other two-third portion lies with Tibet and is controlled by China"

Some facts about Pangong Lake

-The final scene of 3 Idiots was shot here. Few other famous movies like Jab Tak Hai Jaan, Dil Se was shot here as well. 

-Only 40% of the lake situated in India region where another 60% lies under the Tibetan Region. That is why you need to apply for the inner line pass at the district office before entering the Pangong Tso area. 

-Situated in the Himalayas and one of the highest Salt Water Lake in the world.

-During the freeze season, it is famous for skating events.

-Can reach up to -15 to -20 degree Celcius during the winter season.

-Pangong in Ladakhi means conclave and tso in tibetan means lake.

-Pangong Lake is a disputed territory. The Line of Actual Control passes through the lake. A section of the lake 20 km from the Line of Actual Control is controlled by China but claimed by India! The Eastern end is in Tibet and India doesn’t claim it. The Western end is disputed between India and Pakistan.

-Pangong Tso is popular for its changing colour ability. Its colour changes from shades of blue to green to red.

-It is a salt-water lake and is a kind of endorheic basin, which implies that it retains its water and does not allow outflow of its water to other external water bodies, such as oceans and rivers.

-The brackish water of this region has very low micro-vegetation. There, in the lake, you won’t find any aquatic life or fish, except crustaceans.

-Pangong Tso has a length of approximately 134 kilometres (83 miles) and a width (at the widest point) of 5 kilometres (3.1 miles), and on the eastern side the water in the lake is fresh, and it gets more salty as you head west.

-Pangong Tso is best visited between June and September and the required permits are issued only to groups of two or more.

HOW TO REACH PANGONG LAKE:

Most people usually prefer taking the Leh to Pangong Tso route. This route will take you about 6 hours and this totally depends on how many breaks you decide to take on your way. This is the route that you will follow:

Leh to Karu- to Sakti- To Chang La- to Durbuk- to – Tagnste- to – Lukung-to- Spangmik-to- Pangong Lake.

This is me hihi 

This is real photography and it is exactly how it looks over there. 

After we Pangong lake, we spend a few hours in the evening to take some nice pictures over there. Besides that, we actually booked a small homestay to stay beside the saltwater lake. The temperature is -8 degree Celcius in the night. I was literally freezing. The water source also limited. I took bath just to test myself but yeah I was freezing for the whole night. Please do not try hahaha

 

                                  I took this from internet but it looks exactly same.

                                                                                me :P

                                                                       me again :P

some night view from the campsite. Some would advise you to pre-book but honestly, I find it is more convenient to choose the homestay once we arrive over there. Some might cheat you by showing some nice picture but trust me it is a very basic stay over. People are staying there overnight just to witness the beauty of Pangong Lake. It is very hard to get food over there so, the best is to discuss with your homestay owner to get your foods over there. We paid around RM50 for one night at Pangong Lake. There are few more options available over there like a big tent and so on. 

                    This is how most of the campsite and homestay looks like at Pangong Lake.

That night, we enjoy our meal then we were chit-chatting for a while then we go to bed. We are quite tired with the long hour journey honestly. We also planning to catch the sunrise at Pangong Lake. hihihi

Thats all for Day 5 👐

My Backpacking Story to India Sept 2019 (Day 4)

My Backpacking Story to India Sept 2019 (Day 4) 11/9/2019

We started our journey pretty early around 8.20 am. On the way, we stopped at a few beautiful places to shoot some pictures.

We did not prepare any oxygen tank before reaching Khardungla Pass which is one of the highest motorable roads in the world with a height of 17,000 ft.

The pass on the Ladakh Range is north of Leh and is the gateway to the Shyok and Nubra valleys. The Siachen Glacier lies partway up the latter valley. Built-in 1976, it was opened to public motor vehicles in 1988. Maintained by the Border Roads Organisation, the pass is strategically important to India as it is used to carry supplies to the Siachen Glacier. - Wikipedia

The weather is so freaking cold and dry so you can easily get snow blindness. Thanks to the thick jacket! I managed to survive the weather.

Ladakh is the one of the India military bases as this the border to China, Pakistan, and Tibet so basically you can commonly see military trucks everywhere along the route and of course countless check and Permit.

After that, we went to Hunder in Nubray Valley. Nubra Valley is extremely beautiful, to be honest. The sand dunes are there very scenic. It was really tiring traveling for long hours from Leh but yeah we cannot miss the sand dunes. They have a lot of sand camels over there where you can pay have ride on it but thinking on the humanity side I don't really find it encouraging or good to try. we took alot of good photos. super nice pictures. I even dress as ladakhi to take some photos 😝 

Okay. This is really Funny. I was too scared to go near yet I am kinda interested to get a close selfie with the Camel. haha At least half of the camel can be seen there.

You can see donkeys over there as well. Pretty much a lot all over the Hunder Sand Dune. They carry a lot of things at the back of them as well. I felt very sad for the donkeys to be honest.

This is me in Ladakhi costume ☺I paid RM10 to try this costume but I wanted to try badly so I decided to go for it. 

Hunder is an amazing place basically where the people there very friendly and approachable. Our homestay aunty treats us like their own children and they even cook for us fried rice. The housemate aunty explained many things to us about Ladakh and thank god she is really good at English.

  

To be frank in that cold weather and especially when you are super hungry, that fried rice with egg is heaven. After chit-chatting for a while, we decided to go to bed as we need to wake up early tomorrow.  Thats for the 4th Day. hihi I do no have the aunty pic. omg thats so sad.