Mission Ladakh Zanskar Siachen 2007 - Day 05
Leh – Nimu – Khalatse – Lamayuru – Fotu La – Budhkarbu – Mulbekh – Kargil – Drass
I had decided the earlier day that Farhan and Hari would go to Uncle’s house for getting the Car to our house rather than me. I thought it is better to make others realize that it’s not easy to do all the planning, as well as implementation (which included running here and there). They were back with the car around 8 AM and after BRUSHING our teeth, we left almost immediately after having a light breakfast. Again, I didn’t quite like “Khambir” the local bread, partially due to lack of appetite. Farhan, meanwhile, explained me the entire plan as written by Uncle on his official Letterhead.
Our Driver, Prakash, was a complete dude – branded from top to bottom. Sporting a French Cut, I bet he looked smarter than any of us :-) I noted the readings and other formalities, started cruising the curvy roads of Leh. As soon we crossed the Leh Gate, we saw the venue for Annual Ice Hockey competition (the water was as placid as it can get). We were a little sad already on knowing that this car didn’t have a CD player. The terrain after the Airport was stark dry and barren – nothing insight except the mountains and the lonely straight road leading us to eternity. As we got away from Leh, we reached the point of Magnetic Hill – the place where gravity is defied by the presence of some magnetic material inside a hill in front. We parked the car inside the white box and yes, the car started moving on its own! Luckily, Hari had captured a video of me guiding the car.
I had decided the earlier day that Farhan and Hari would go to Uncle’s house for getting the Car to our house rather than me. I thought it is better to make others realize that it’s not easy to do all the planning, as well as implementation (which included running here and there). They were back with the car around 8 AM and after BRUSHING our teeth, we left almost immediately after having a light breakfast. Again, I didn’t quite like “Khambir” the local bread, partially due to lack of appetite. Farhan, meanwhile, explained me the entire plan as written by Uncle on his official Letterhead.
Our Driver, Prakash, was a complete dude – branded from top to bottom. Sporting a French Cut, I bet he looked smarter than any of us :-) I noted the readings and other formalities, started cruising the curvy roads of Leh. As soon we crossed the Leh Gate, we saw the venue for Annual Ice Hockey competition (the water was as placid as it can get). We were a little sad already on knowing that this car didn’t have a CD player. The terrain after the Airport was stark dry and barren – nothing insight except the mountains and the lonely straight road leading us to eternity. As we got away from Leh, we reached the point of Magnetic Hill – the place where gravity is defied by the presence of some magnetic material inside a hill in front. We parked the car inside the white box and yes, the car started moving on its own! Luckily, Hari had captured a video of me guiding the car.
Zanskar meets Indus
Approaching Nimu, we saw the fantastic first views of Zanskar meeting Indus – and the color changing. There were numerous artificially created green areas amidst barren landscape near these towns and villages. Next was Khalatse and as we crossed it, the checkpost 3 km ahead showed us the diversion, which I was not aware of. Batalik was merely 75 km from there, and I remembered Yogesh telling me that Khalatse was the place from where all the Military activity started. I wondered how close Batalik must be to LOC and promised myself that I would do it whenever I come here next time. The next stop – became Fotu La – the highest point on the Srinagar – Leh Highway. The height was quite low and we felt hot.
If you want to go to Batalik, Go Right from Khalatse!
Lamayuru
As planned, we reached Budhkarbu in time for lunch and I started preparing myself to talk to the Army Officers. The conversation was quite smooth but the wait quite long. We were quite hungry by the time the lunch was served. We relished each bit of it – “Kale Chane, Arhar Dal, Roti, Rice, Raita” – Good meal after 4 days. We filled our tummies like anything and paid the Mess Bill, as told earlier. Our Driver took some time, however, to return from his lunch at Budhkarbu village before we could leave again. We crossed Lamayuru and the famous Moonland and soon found that the road ahead was blocked due to Construction work going on. The Highway was being expanded from 70 to 100 feet on which I thought – what a Highway it would be. We met a Doordarshan Engineers team there who told me that the Suru & Zanskar valleys are like “Switzerland”. Stuck there for more than an hour amidst dirt and heat left us with little energy and so we didn’t stop at Namika La since it was not a big deal for us now, I guess.
Moonland near Lamayuru
It was well past 5, when we reached Kargil and Prakash told us that the loading rod of the Scorpio is broken and needs repair. We searched for Mahindra Service Station and found one in the dingy space of mechanics besides Indus. There, I felt the pressure inside building up. This Nature Call, I felt, was supposed to be answered now. Gladly, Farhan helped me with the water while I found a covered pit. As I relieved myself, I remembered the heavy food I had at Budhkarbu and smiled to myself :-)
We were on the road again to Drass and on the way, enjoying some of the most sought after signboards but soon, it turned dark and there was nothing we could see. We reached Drass by 9 and missed the HQ where we were supposed to stay. It was only when we crossed Drass, we asked a Checkpost Jawan, and he asked us to turn back from there. When we reached the HQ, all the Officers had gone to a party and the Phone lines were closed for the day so it was quite a task for us to get inside, given the temperature. After all, I remembered, Drass is the second coldest inhabited place on Earth (after Verkhoyansk in Siberia). We got 2 cozy rooms – me sharing again with Bikiran. TV was showing a documentary on the Kashmir issue and the curfew had just been flagged on January 19, 1990 when the channel was changed. Hari and Bikiran wanted to see something else – something more entertaining and I and Farhan gave in. Dinner was served inside the rooms as the Mess was closed and as earlier, the food was beyond awesome. The last compartment of the tiffin had Gulab jamun as the Dessert.
