I Have Been Here Before

It was summer then, with the tips of rooftops awash with crisp sunshine, bright colours like fairies reflecting its surfaces. Now amidst this white powder snow, I marvel at the stark beauty; Ladakh makes sure it welcomes me with each time I visit. This is at Thiksey Gompa, one of the most visited, a must do on the tourist trail in Ladakh.

Would you go back to the Eiffel tower, each time you travel to Paris? May be you dint go all the way to the top the last time? Perhaps you would revisit a sunset at the queen’s necklace in Bombay; for a sun set after all has a different magic to it each time. For all the summers I travelled to Ladakh, this was the first winter I witnessed. If the place has a charming mystery to it in summers, the allure manifests in its every iota in winters, mesmerised I was, yes.

I am not much of a dancer; and in those layers of winter wear, moving, barely so. You don’t suppose a rhythmic step or two would be a part of the script that day, yet here I was singing and gracefully swinging along. Was it me or the magic I could feel throbbing through this landscape?

This was January 2013, just before I walked the Chadar trek, across the Zanskar valley. It was a quick day trip, just before we went off the grid, onto the seclusion of that icy white trail. It felt like home, it felt my own.

Is that another rhyme I see?

Aha yes, Ladakh tends to do that to me.  

Crossing Pagla Nala, Pangong Tso Lake

This was the time of tiny cell phones and my fascination for video travel documentaries. What I though would be few simple shots of the river turned out to be a two day adventure.

We started off from Leh city to travel to Pangong Tso Lake, situated at a height of approximately 14000 feet, stretching from Ladakh in the northern most part of India all the way up to Tibet. Though roads leading from the city to the lake are well made, en-route you have to cross a temperamental rivulet called Pagla Nala which is a quite tricky one, what with rubble, ever changing paths and the volume of water descending from melting glaciers further north.

I dint know it then, but this has become one of my most memorable, unexpected, free spirited Ladakh memories. No luxury hotel can give me the view, the magic, the aw I felt and experienced the night we stayed over just inches away from the lake, with a gorgeous starry sky as my companion.

You just have to experience it to believe it.

That's the fun of travel really, when you see the video you'll notice that what was just a fun family video turned out to be a wondrous catalog of an adventure. I hope you experience the magic.  

7 Traits of a Super Travel Blogger

Of course you are a travel-junkie.  But there are those of us who travel a lot but when asked about a trip they say, “It was nice.” Nice does not even come close to my encounter with a python in a jungle in Maharashtra! So here’s my take on 5 things that make a traveller a super travel blogger.

1. Actualise your Wishlists

A lot of us have wish lists. But have you set a schedule?  I will travel to Ecuador, France, Argentina, Australia, Cyprus, Switzerland and Canada in the year 2014 and I am working towards actualising my travels to these destinations.

2. Observe, be Curious

When you do travel – observe. On a trip to Pondicherry, I walked around markets full of export surplus garments. On further inquiry I discovered that Tirupur, India’s biggest garment manufacturing hub was just a stone’s throw away.  Tourists normally browse by without a thought, but a keen observer can make the connections. So when you travel on work the next time for a meeting in Tokyo for example, notice how there are no trash cans there, find out why.

3. Take Notes

Yes, the human brain is capable of remembering everything we come across each day of our lives. But for most of us mere mortals on occasions when we come across something fascinating, without being recorded it fades away from our memory. I make sure to take notes of interesting names, phrases and striking numbers while on my travels. I also save small souvenirs, may be a flower fallen down just as I pass in a garden in London or a ticket stub of the Louvre on a backpacking trip through France.  This habit keeps my memories strong and helps to add a unique flavour to my travel stories.

4. Though while applying the same to travel photography keep your camera aside for a moment. Sometimes you have to save the image of that gorgeous frozen turquoise water in Ladakh or that royal Jaisalmer sunset in your mind’s eye to feel the magic.

5.  Transcribe in Time

You made your notes diligently during your travels but they are now lying at the end of your pile of books and it’s already been a few weeks since you got back? This sometimes happens to the best of travel writers and bloggers.  Reasons for this range can be many; from having itchy feet to travel to your next destination instead of sitting at a desk and typing it all out, pure laziness or lack of time due to a busy schedule. I avoid this delay by jotting down my memories the moment I get some free time on my trip. As soon I get access to a computer I transcribe them. This way my travel story is ready even before I have arrived back home.

6.  Think Eclectic

It is nice to be part of a network of like minded friends and colleagues. But it is even better to meet people with varied interests, professions, interests and occupations. Imagine sitting in Mumbai at a spiritual convention and being connected to friends sending you updates about a photography exhibition in Delhi and a surf festival in Goa! You can expand your knowledge by just knowing a carpenter in Sweden and an organic farmer in Peru and you never know where the two can connect and lead you to a travel story.

7. Share
Don't be stingy. Share your ideas, thoughts, travel tips, experiences stories with everyone you come across. A fellow blogger needs tips on some coding issues, share your hacks. A friend's aunt needs a trip planned, understand what her requirements are and try your best in scheduling a gorgeous trip for her. Moreover you never know, you will come across something new yourself in the process.

There, that's my two pence on the traits of a super travel blogger. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this.

Chadar in the Press

For the entire story: Click Here
For an audio recording of this story: Click Here 

Roads oft Travelled

Trying to get myself to sleep last night, I got this random thought (one of the zillion, I'am sure you’ll agree) – A thought that life seems like a series of roads – roads we travel by to the destinations we have to reach.

Let me explain.
Starting from base camp – Mumbai.
Mumbai’s pot holed roads. Tell me, sometimes doesn’t life get way too bumpy, so bumpy that your eyes stray into the rare view mirror and say, “Hey, this has to be Mumbai??”

Or talk about some stomach lurching bends – everything’s going awesome, your friends are back, great job, a promise of something lovely and then – a steep hairpin bend – am back to the roads of Ladakh!

A synonym, a metaphor, but life sure seems like the roads we travel by...

Happiness..pure bliss – like the Mumbai-Pune express way! A new beginning in a relationship or friendship – like the mystery of an undefined forest trail, a dirt track – like the first question to a terrible exam paper... you see the metaphor emerge!

They indeed are, Roads oft Travelled..

Back to Ladakh

You know, there are times when you yearn for something, but somehow you feel guilty for wanting it, I don’t know why but throughout last year I yearned to travel again...
...again to Ladakh.

This was after my first visit with the army to Kargil, three years ago. Back then, with the tight schedule the army had planned for us, there was very little time we could spend going to the remote places that this mountainous desert was famous for.

So here I was, flying back.


Ladakh welcomes you even before you land. You’re flying high above snow covered peaks and suddenly a rage of mud brown mountains soar in front of you giving you a peek into the lush green valleys sprinkled below.

Like in the movies, there was no music of triumph but goose bumps galore - trying to register the fact that I was finally there.

I was there with an almost selfish motive – to get over my photographer’s block – a sudden incapacitation lasting two terrible years that stopped me from clicking. I had heard of a lake in particular – Pangong Lake and I made that the central theme of my visit this time.


There was much more I discovered on the way; which is a beautiful side effect of travelling.

Apart from the crazy adventure on my way to the lake (which would need another entry in this blog) witnessing a now modern commercialised Leh market was a little unnerving. Seeing people of other origins owning jewelery stores and the local Tibetan/Ladakhi women sinking deep in poverty, begging on the streets or selling their meager wares made me think...

...they were better off without us, aliens to their culture, their traditions, their peace.

Peace, a kind of magnetic spiritual culture, one which any one from any part of the world is attracted to.

Kid lamas in red robes,
Revolving prayer wheels,
The flutter of a prayer flag,It’s unbound threads becoming one with the wind,
chanting the magical Om Mane Padme Hum.


There is something about the silence of this place,
serene but not quite,
pristine but not quite,
magical but not quite,
maybe the not quite comes from the ‘not quite’ within me...

My Trip to Kargil Covered by Media

Ladakh A Kingdom in the Sky

Ladakh

Mystic Land…
At an average altitude of over 11,000 ft Ladakh (literally - "Land of High Passes"), nestling in the Himalayas, is a place like no other. Its raw beauty, unique people and the prevalence of Buddhism in their culture brings many travelers to this mystical land.

Vast mountains studded with whitewashed monasteries, verdant valleys that surprise you with their splash of vivid green, incredibly blue skies, remote monasteries built on hilltops, air so clear you can literally see for miles…are some of the unique gifts bestowed to this land.

The People…The people of Ladakh are the land’s most unique asset. It has a mix of Buddhists and Muslims, with many monasteries and mosques in the region. Their friendly and peace loving nature is reflected in a harmonious lifestyle. A warm Jullay (welcome) is refreshing to the ears and they happily share a slice of their lives, brimming with hospitality and a cup of namkeen chai.

Living in isolation, this arid region opens up to the world for a mere 4 months in the year. Ladakh comes alive during the summer months from June to September. Its festivals in monasteries, during which the people come out with a unique style of dressing, coupled with fun filled archery and polo competitions in open arenas and a wide variety of cultural performances are some of the highlights in summer. During the other months, Ladakh is covered under a blanket of snow. Among the highest inhabited places in the world, life here flows with the seasons.

The Places…Ladakh is known for its monasteries, stupas and gompas along with its quaint but bustling market. The main Leh town is dominated by a nine-storey palace built by King Singge Namgyal, in the grand tradition of Tibetan architecture, which is said to have inspired the famous Potala in Lhasa built about half a century later. The towering Shanti Stupa a little away from the town area is a sight worth seeing. The beautiful monastery of Tiksey is situated about 20 km far from the town of Leh and ranks among the most important monasteries in Ladakh.

There are many more places to explore out of the main town in Leh. Lamayuru, Kargil, Drass and Zanskar are a must see for every visitor. If the highest road pass in the world behind Leh, the Khardung La, is open, one can have the privilege of experiencing its vivid beauty.

Getting There...Flying into Leh airport, which takes two hours from Jammu, the cold desert land, over the magnificent Himalayas is a beautiful and scary experience at once. Even though one can drive to Leh form the Srinagar- Kargil route, it is much too tiring and long (two days) a route and does not give you the exclusive opportunity of an aerial view of Ladakh.

After being immersed in the virgin beauty of Ladakh, it is the toughest thing to bid farewell to this tiny kingdom in the sky. The memories cannot be replaced for eternity.