Eastern Ladakh I

Leh has a lot of cultural display regarding Ladakh, but due to commercialization, it is bound to change. The prosperity has led to modern buildings. To have a look at 'not so modern' Ladakh, one has to move away to Karu or Upshi or even further to Rumtse. Eastern Ladakh starts showing of variations in terrain as well with more vast open spaces and a higher elevation. After crossing over Khardungla on my return, I ended up in Karu and perched around near by villages. This was the longest stay as I had to wait for the fantastic Leh Manali route to open up. Meanwhile, I explored Pangong Tso and Chushul regions. Eastern Ladakh stays the best part of the journey with lots of scenic moments and good tough experiences. The heighest passes were fought in this region. 7 out of 10 times I crossed 5000m altitude mark on the bike. While some say it was the man not the machine to achieve such feats, I would have to agree. If it weren't for Mr. Cannondale, 12000cc of thighs would not have scaled the heights so efficiently and quickly!

Solar Cooker. 2 houses: an old and a new one

On the way to Pangong Tso

Chemrey Gompa cluster on the hill

Tsoltak: snowed on ChangLa

529mbar of pressure on Changla! almost half of that at sealevel! Killer...

Wildlife near Khardungla

On my return, as I struggled up to North Pulu, the ride had lots of surprises in the form of wildlife. That was the most active day in the complete regarding wildlife. But one has to ensure that the animals are not scared away by the motor sounds and what I missed while I hurried down the slope was mainly due to speed and sunset. Some of them find their way to this blog while animals like ibex are too common to find on the ridges high up during mornings and evenings.