The very last day: Tsomoriri to Leh

As we left Tsomoriri many thoughts were doing rounds in my head. This had been a fantastic induction to Leh for us, clearly this was a place we HAD to return to over and over again, so we could explore this wondrous place at our own pace in leisure! As we headed out of the village, the lake offered us perfect reflections. We couldn't help but stop and click!

We had spent very little time with Roopa, so we shifted into their car for this last drive. As we drove to Tsokar they prepped us for some more perfect reflections, but sadly the Tsokar Lake itself had shrunk since the last time they had been here!! The Himalayas seemed to be mocking us saying "Don't think you know me well, I am anything but predictable!!" But this didn't undermine the beauty of Tsokar in anyway! Anyways before that there were more sulfuric hotsprings enroute. We also saw a herd of yaks, donkeys and pashmina goats! They were beautiful!!

Then the most wondrous thing of all happened, we noticed a herd of wild ass!!! Such beautiful creatures and they looked so magnificent in the backdrop!!

Apparently these creatures are hunted in China and thats why they come running into Ladakh. When we stopped they were herding up and peering at us. When our car started moving they set off into a gallop, their sheer power and speed was awe inspiring!! We will never forget that sight as they ran next to us!!

Finally we reached Tsokar. The stones at the view point had some Tibetian inscriptions in them. The sight was beautiful and breathtaking!

Next we headed to Taglang La- the third highest pass in the region. Another hectic drive near the pass, but this time we were all prepped for it :)

The route from Taglang Lato Leh was splendid!! The mountains changed from aubergine to green to majenta!! The river didn't change color though as it apparently had the last time Roopa and Giri were here. Again I guess it was wrong to presume we could predict the Himalayan scenery! :)

We stopped at the river to get our feet wet even as roads were blocked for some widening.

Next stop was Shey monastry, we had many more places to see but we got too absorbed in this monastry to make it on time to the Shey Palace etc. The monastry and the stupas were beautiful and fitting last place of visit for us.

The monastry was colorful and the views were to die for!! :) We went all the way up to the terrace too! Vinod clicked a beautiful picture of me n AJ on the terrace! :)

 Inside the monastry we again spent some time meditating. Both Vijay and I couldn't stop exclaiming how beautiful this place was and how all places of worship need to be like this- where spiritualism is automatically invoked!!

 We stopped for a breath of air after all the climbing and I got this picture of the others! :)

 At the golden buddha temple we sat for some more meditation, the calm and quietness never ceased to amaze us!!

 By the Stupas we stopped for some great pictures, again Vinod was with us and he got one of me n AJ :)

The last stop was Sindhughat...somehow many of them didn't want to get down there...so only Sangeeta and I walked in for the views. It turned out to be pretty good, so I ran back and brought AJ along...some of them were miffed I was delaying their return to the hotel...I just ignored the grumbles, i thought the several times we'd been kept waiting by the others would make up for it :D!! It was our LAST day here... we wanted to make the best of it!! :)

So the day ended and we headed back to Hotel Horizon to pack up for once and all! Once done with the packing we played a game of Dumb Charades that was again fraught with some judgemental moments...not the best of end to a wonderful trip I must confess...as always AJ said "why do you bother about what others say?" and began snoring away to glory! Another moment when I was glad he was my husband :D A good sleep and the next day we bid our goodbyes to the rest of the group... and we flew out of Leh! We had met some very interesting people- Vijay with his 6 foot long aquarium was most like us I think. We even exchanged shopping notes!! That was fun...surely a visit to his house was due the next time we were in Bangalore; Anindita was a fun loving person, hopefully we will get to bike together sometime; Girish Kulkarni has promised a trip to Kabini sometime in the next couple of months; Vinod -who brought some yummy snacks from Bangalore for all of us; Sangeeta- whose laugh was sooo very infectious; Hansveer- whose kaaley ghaney reshme baal will forever give me a complex and his ability to yaak with any tom dick and harry is sooo unique;Ashish- shared AJ's passion for photography and helped with all our shopping, he always struck a good bargain!! Of course Roopa, my dearest friend without whom this trip would have been impossible and likewise Giri...

It was a heavy heart...but we knew this was just the right number of days....adieu Himalayas, we are leaving behind a small bit of us with you..but then you have surely left behind a greater part of you in us!!

Tsomoriri and Tsokar- Where Nature is a painted canvas!!

This was the last leg of our trip...can't believe it came upon us so soon!! But then no regrets, this was indeed an HIMALAYAN GRIND! The drives were taking a toll on our backs...we surely had to get fitter if we had to go on like this for another week!! The route was in the same direction as our trip to Pangong except after the place where we stopped for breakfast we had to take a right! Everywhere we stopped for breakfast or lunch we'd be surrounded by dogs- rabies is endemic in Ladakh. So it would be better to avoid getting any closer to these strays!

On our way to Chumathang we chanced upon a student who wanted a ride with us! It was so much fun talking to him, schools are apparently closed from November to March. In other months they were taught everything from sciences to Math. They also had lessons on tennis, cricket and volleyball!!

We dropped him off just before we reached Chumathang- another place where we could see hot springs. I didn't head out myself, but AJ went and took some pics so I knew what I had missed! :) I took some pics from the car unable to get out in this unbearable heat!

Soon we realized this was th elast place where we'd get some food. So despite a late breakfast we all had a quick lunch. The Lamying restaurant served up some pretty decent white rice with dal and subzi. Our friend Girish had apparently missed out on some fun the last time he'd traveled with TAG due to High Altitude Sickness. So this time around he was back with a vengeance..when we all stopped at the hot springs he walked on !! But because of this he missed out on the lunch!! We packed some for him, but I knew that without his favorite 'curds' there ws no way he was having this lunch!! We soon picked him from a bridge ahead.
We drove along the river this entire drive to Tso Moriri!  It was a divin drive..the landscape kept changing and some of what we saw was mind boggling!

The colors of the mountains varied from orange to white to purple (a bed of flowers suddenly to yellow!!

ANd then we'd chance upon some lush green pastures- it almost looked like a painting....in fact so many times I had dismissed paintings such as these saying "see how improbable they are!!""

Here we found a Yak family- 2 adults and 2 juveniles peacefully grazing in the meadows!! Such lovely creatures these! Till I saw them I always thought Yaks are only Black in color!! Turns out that is not true!!

We went on through the winding roads up the mountains, thru roads that didn't exist to reach the peaks only to realize that a storm was brewing! This was the first instance that we had extreme weather!! High up at these altitudes even natures fury looks beautiful! A small lake that precedes Tsomoriri looked amazing as it bathed in the sleet rains!!

The place is so vast that though we could see the storm we were not in it yet! Another half hour of driving brought us to Tsomoriri- a high altitude lake set amidst the snow capped mountains! The proximity of the mountains and the storm that was raging made the whole setting seem all the more majestic and alive!! If Pangong had seemed pristine, Tsomoriri seemed to heave in the heavens!! I caught my breath, was I dead and was this heaven???? Lush green meadows flanked the lake, straight away we spotted some brahminy ducks and bar headed geese! But the sleet was pelting away at us and we couldn't get any shots! Hopefully Giri had go some in the vehicle ahead of us! The rocky roads ran dangerously close to the lake but the beautiful turquoise waters kept our attention arrested.

We had booked ourselves into camps and to be honest I was extremely nervous about staying in the tents given this weather. The locals threatened that temperatures would go sub zero in the night!! We checked out some guest houses that were still being constructed, however the group was very enthusiastic about staying in the tents!! Giri n Roopa were open to just me an AJ staying in the guest house if we wanted to..but then this being the last leg of the trip we decided to go stay with the rest of the gang in the tents!! I was a lil disappointed to miss out on the fantastic view that the guest house had!! But as AJ said this was probably a trip where we spent more time with the group rather than with a view. I am so grateful to have married someone as sane as AJ when it comes to these things, otherwise I'd have let this small thing ruin my trip am sure!!

The camps turned out to be surprisingly nice. We put our bags there and headed out for a walk by the lake. The drivers were really nasty, first they fought with us and then agreed to take us till the lake. They dropped us there and unceremoniously came back without picking us up. We walked back to the camp...I think they were expecting a little tip...The time we spent at the lake was very precious, I thoroughly enjoyed how close to nature I felt at this time!! This was the best place of all in our trip...again such a shame we spent only one night here...have to come back for more!! The birding opportunities made AJ think likewise :D

So in the night, despite the cold I got to sleep very well... I think once I make up my mind to curl up and sleep nothing can really stop me!! :D <People who have traveled with me in the past will surely vouch for that!>  Dinner was good and another game of Mafia and Dumb Charades did the rounds. AJ stayed up for some star gazing...I was too tired so I slept off! Thus ended our last but one day of the trip!