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“Travelling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.”
-Ibn Battuta
“After a night’s journey, we woke up to the most amazing sunrise. The orange sky, green valley and the flowing river Beas relaxed our nerves…As we moved forward, the tall pine and cedar trees of Himachal were no more insight…the terrain got more deserts like…As the night falls, the entire Milky Way is visible; it felt like the ever-changing alluring landscape tells us the story of the evolution of Earth.”
Welcome to Dr. Shubhangini Gandhi’s Ladakhi Diaries
We all have friends on our social media networks that keep travelling to different places, with different groups. Then we have some people who travel solo do short-term travel. And then there are people who simply get attached to a place to such an extent that they keep going back, as if they were in search of a missing puzzle!
Does any place come to your mind?
Meet Dr. Shubhangini Gandhi, a dentist by profession and a traveller by passion, who believes, “Leh Ladakh is nothing less than Heaven on Earth”. After having visited the magical terrains in 2013, she felt her kids must absolutely take this adventurous experience, and thus, in the June of 2017; they took the magical road trip to Ladakh.
Dr. Gandhi feels that there’s no place more mysteriously beautiful than the Ladakhi terrains. Orange Sky, Green Valleys, Brown Deserts, White Snow, Black Starry Nights are just some of the colours that fill the colouring book whilst the group was on their way from Manali to Ladakh . Well, we do not wonder why Dr. Gandhi looks forth to her third Ladakhi trip already, who believes in the quote “Travelling liberates your mind and soul”!
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Love at First Sight – Planning the Road Trip
In June 2013, Dr. Shubhangini Gandhi fell in love with Ladakh, and whilst bidding goodbye from the high skies of her airplane to the terrains; she silently whispered that she would be back. Come June 2017, she was already on the roads to Ladakh; a road trip that she wanted to experience with her family!
For Dr. Gandhi, everything was set in place, already. The maps, the roads, the places, the culture; all tucked away safely in her heart. A Google search made her come across different websites that offer the Manali-Leh road trip; and after thorough studying into the different packages available, she finally zeroed in on ‘Manali to Leh Jeep Safari’ tour package by Thrillophilia. Here, begins her love story with Ladakh. She did mention, post her trip, that “she was pretty happy with the package.” A perfect match, we’d say!
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The Family That Fell in Love with Ladakh
We all secretly pray to the Travel-Gods for blessing us with a road trip with our friends and families, and we often actually look for the right packages online, from time to time. This family’s prayers got answered in 2017.
Accompanied with her husband, children and a couple-friend; Dr Gandhi and her family witnessed the Ladakhi landscape beautifully change every few tens of kilometres like it were a breathtaking ritual in this land of high passes. In her talks with Thrillophilia, she casually described her travel companions as super-excited ones, and there could not be a better group she could have chosen to explore these tremendous terrains with!
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The Love Letter to Ladakh – The Itinerary!
It all started on the night of June 12, 2017, when the group got into the Volvo headed to Manali. Little did they know that a story was being written, silently and quickly, a story that they’d want the world to hear about. A story invaluable, indispensable and a story so close to their hearts.
They were headed to Ladakh! Their letter passed through the valleys of Manali, massive heights of Rohtang Pass, Keylong, Jispa, Baralacha La, Nakeela, Lachang La Pass, Skyangchu Thang, Tanglang La Pass, Khardung La, the magical city they call Leh, the astonishing valleys of Nubra, and the blue as sky Pangong Tso Lake!
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The Mighty Mountains and The Luring Landscapes
As one leaves the boundaries of an urban landscape and enters the wilderness or carefree forests and proud white-brown-green mountains, one feels the birth of joy in the corner of their hearts. The Gandhi family witnessed the same as they entered Himachal Pradesh on Day 1. “Orange sky, green valley and the flowing river Beas relaxed our nerves”, as Dr. Shubhangini subtly puts it.
The next stop that welcomed them with wide-open arms was Jispa, where the stay was organized at Gemur Cottage with a view to live for! Thrillophilia recommends staying at Jispa, considering the importance of acclimatization during the road journey to Leh. The journey between Jispa and Sarchu witnessed the arrival of a desert-like landscape, with arid or rather almost no vegetation. One of the key moments in this ride from Manali to Leh, as Dr Gandhi expresses, was the unexpected love showered back by the Ladakhi Gods, in the form of snowfall. The entire stretch appeared to be have been “carpeted with fresh white snow”, and it was truly difficult to not stop for a long time (as advised by the driver).
Every love story comes with a twist. Soon after Dr Gandhi crossed Tanglang La, the second highest motorable road in the world, her younger son felt AMS striking him down. The oxygen cylinder in the car and the medical help at the army post down-hill comfortably took care of the situation; and in fact, this happened at most of the high passes during the travel. AMS or acute mountain sickness is a commonly experienced condition by a lot of travellers, at high altitudes. Dr Gandhi recalls, “The awkward moments were when my younger son would get mountain sickness at all high passes. He could not enjoy there and rushed us downhill…The moment the altitude lowered, he would get fine and insist on going back to click pictures!”
The Love at Leh
Once in love, forever in love. The same was the story with Dr. Gandhi’s stint with Leh during her 2017 visit. Having visited the city with her husband earlier in 2013, she did know how to romance with Leh. The family hugged the Ladakhi vibes, visited monasteries and stupas and interacted with the local folks; it almost felt as if they had a connection with the city, untouched and undisputed all these years.
After a quality time spent with the city and its folks, the family put on their adventure suits and jumped into the waters of Zanskar for a quick river rafting session, which certainly pumped up their adrenaline rush!
The White Deserts & The Blue Pangong Tso Lake
The next day, Dr Gandhi and her family crossed the Khardung La Pass to reach the land of double-humped camels and white sand dunes, she expresses that it almost fell like “the ever-changing alluring landscape was telling us the stories of the evolution of Earth”.
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In her love tale with Ladakh, Dr Gandhi admits that the most romantic chapter was written at the Pangong Tso Lake where the eyes were glued to the Milky Way stars, thousands and thousands of them sparkling like fireflies in the dark black skies. The water at Pangong Tso Lake reflects shades of blue as the sun’s rays gently fall upon it. Her love for Pangong comes out in her statement, “I wish I could spend the entire night gazing the stars sitting on the banks of Pangong Tso.”
When asked Dr. Gandhi about what she misses the most from the visit to Ladakh, her cheerful soul lit up and she said, “This trip is all about falling in love with Nature”. She is already planning her third trip, and this time love shall know no boundaries – she’ll be walking on the dangerously charming Chadar of Zanskar – the frozen river trail!
Feel like Falling in Love with Ladakh? Read these Pointers, by Dr Gandhi!
Dr Gandhi believes that Ladakh is a must-visit for all; whether one travels solo or with friends, or with their loved ones. Given her constant romance with Ladakh, we asked her about the pointers that future travellers must take care of while planning their trip, and she readily mentioned the below ones.
- Be fit, both physically and mentally.
- A lot of times, sickness like AMS can be prevented with the adequate consumption of water! Always be hydrated.
- Dress in multiple layers, for the weather’s pretty moody.
- Do not expect five start comforts; this trip is about falling in love with Nature.
- Always wear a good, comfortable pair of shoes, and carry your sunglasses along.
- It’s disappointing to see people litter and make this Heaven on Earth into hell. Please respect the place and let it love you back!
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