My First Solo Travelogue: Part Five
Day Five:
23.07.2018
We got a
wakeup call at 6am; breakfast was at 7am. There was sabudana khichdi for those
who had fast. Today's dress code was red. We had a group photo in the garden
and left for our journey at 8am. Today the
roads were rough and we had more jumping breaks at the backseat, thus not
allowing me to click photos. There were four levels of elevation. At 10.30am,
around 60 army vehicles passed the road, making us wait for a while. We
reached Chang La pass at 10:45am.
Chang La
It is a
high mountain pass in Ladakh, on the route to Pangong Lake from Leh. Though it
is some 500ft less in elevation than Khardung La, it was colder and there was
thick fog covering the mountain tops. There was a Changla Baba temple. Also it drizzled for a while adding up to
the cold temperature.
There were
water streams flowing parallel and we did see some yaks. We halted at 12.45pm
at Ashoka restaurant for tea, coffee and maggi break. Then passed through the
military camp. On the way we saw marmots; these are large squirrels who live in
burrows.
At 01:30pm, we got the first view of the lake and we drove on the road
parallel to the lake and reached Hotel Alpen Glow at 2pm. There were
tent houses, and we were just a few minutes away from the lake. We had lunch
and were going to visit the lake at 03:30pm. So there was no time to take even
a quick nap.
Pangong
Tso
It is an
endorheic lake (it does not meet any sea or ocean) situated in the Himalayas at
14270ft. It is a salt water lake and freezes completely during winter. The Line
of Control passes through this lake. The most
notable feature of the lake is the ever changing hues of the water; its the
mountain reflection and sun rays adding to make a colourful moving canvas. The
lake acts as an important breeding ground for a large variety of migratory birds
like Brahmani ducks, rare black necked cranes and Seagulls.
We clicked
photos and selfies and took videos. There were props of 3 Idiots movie. The
lake got to fame due to this movie. There was a yellow scooty and red helmet of
Piya (Kareena Kapoor). Many wore the red bridal dress and posed for the click.
Then there were 3Idiot seats and drums as well. There were yaks and horses for
ride. Also there were ladakhi dresses; I tried it since I missed the
opportunity at Rancho School. Wearing the dress was fine and also the
ornaments. But when the lady put the stone studded piece on my head, I could
feel the weight and was amazed how did the female artists dance yesterday with
this complete attire. We got back to Alpen Glow and had tea.
 |
| All Izz Well |
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| All set to find..... |
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| Felt like Kareena in Jab We Met song "Ye Ishq Hai" |
Four of us (Mayuri, Supriya, Aarti,me) went back to the lake at 06:30pm after taking permission from the tour managers. I always want some ME time when I am on any trip or otherwise. We went solo after reaching the shore. As always I found a rock to sit in and start contemplating of my solo life. I didn't knew that even lake water rises at the shore. I was busy videoing the mountain and the water splashing the rock I was sitting on and even captured some thunder signs of rain arrival. It felt like I am boating on the lake. Click here for the video
We got back to our tents. I got a feeling that I would catch cold and fall ill. Dr. Vibhavari Kashalikar did suggest some precautionary measures to avoid cold; I was so thankful to her. As it started getting darker, the temperature dropped. We had dinner at 8pm, watching the movie Robot. French fries and mango juice was arranged for those who had fast today. We got back to our tents; I slept at 09:30pm itself. It was raining in the night. Two of my tent dreams were fulfilled now: one in the deep valley and another in the vicinity of a lake.
Read next: My First Solo Travelogue: Part Six
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