Part 9: Kashmir, Ladakh & Rajasthan

4 000

Kilometers by train and car

18 169

Military vehicles

12

Near-death experiences

5 359

Highest alititude in metres

Trip overview

It was with anticipation that Eddie boarded the flight Warsaw-Delhi after a one-night layover, before heading towards the true Indian summer. The airline (LOT) had apparently noticed that they had a prominent guest on the flight and as a surprise they upgraded him from Economy to Business! His caretakers have tried their best after Eddie’s stay on the Sheraton in Buenos Aires to keep his small feet on the ground, but when force-fed with canapés and champagne, they are struggling indeed… (and have to admit that it is quite nice to be spoiled and being able to have a gooooood night’s sleep laying down).

After a good few hours of sleep, Eddie arrived in the simmering New Delhi and headed straight to Paharganj, his favourite area in the multimillion city. New Delhi in the summer months from May to September is boiling hot and humid, so after a couple of days sweating approx. 7 litres per day, we all jumped on an aircon-train heading towards cooler areas… or so we thought.… Little did we know that the city of Jammu was even hotter than New Delhi! With a new day of sweating, we escaped into a rotating sky lounge restaurant and stayed for several hours with chilled beer until it had cooled down so we could head out again to approx. 40 degrees to arrange our bus ticket on the most unremarkable bus station we have ever experienced. It was literally only a small window in a wall, hidden inside something that looked like a car park/warehouse. One should think that they didn’t want any customers.. and that might have been the intention as well, especially when we saw the bus which turned up the next day…On time though, so that was a plus!

A +/- 10 hours bus drive took us to Srinagar in Kashmir, and we passed thousands of armed military personnel, roadblocks, barbed wires, watch towers, military vehicles and tanks with snipers. However, we arrived safe and sound in Srinagar and Eddie was ready to stretch his wings on our humble houseboat on Dal Lake. It was a true Shangri La, and nothing that reminded us of staying in a conflicted area. Spending 3 days/2 nights in Srinagar was well worth it, and the last morning we were picked up by a small boat before sunrise and taken to the floating market. This colorful wholesale vegetable market starts at 5am and goes on till 7am, set against an amazing backdrop of mountains and floating gardens in the natural wetlands of Srinagar. A great experience, even though Eddie is not a big fan of early mornings and tries to avoid them as best he can… maybe because his caretakers are grumpy this early. 🤔

After the floating market (and breakfast/coffee), the grumpiness is gone and we headed towards Srinagar-Leh highway. It is a looooong drive and one option is to stop in Kargil for the night, but we decided to push on as we wanted to reach Leh as soon as possible. So we did, and once again we passed loads of military vehicles, army personnel and snipers the first few hours, sometimes with only 30 meters apart from each other. 12 hours later we arrived in Leh, where we on our way passed several high passes (Zoji La – 3 528 m, Namki La – 3 700 m and Fotu La – 4 094 m) with stunning views. The closer we got to the Ladakh mountain region, the worse the road conditions became and this was only a beginning and a preparation of how the roads would turn out…

Leh is a relaxed and pristine town located 3 520 meters above sea level in the state of Ladakh which is known for breathtaking Himalayan landscapes, serene monasteries and a unique cultural heritage. Ladakh is strongly influenced by Tibetan Buddhism and Leh is also known as Little Tibet or the Land of Lamas. Due to the high altitude, it is recommended to take it easy the first few days and so we did and only after 2 days we embarked on some day trips to various monasteries and up to Khardung La, which is one of the highest motorable roads in the world at a whopping 5 359 meters. Reaching this altitude is something the body definitely reacts to, and if not taken seriously, you may risk altitude sickness which can be life threatening. We followed all advises and experienced only common reactions such as the skull felt like it was 2 sizes too small followed by a strong headache, shortness of breath, a tingling/numbing feeling in the body… and fancy blue lips that matched Eddie’s blue beak.

After 5 days in and around Leh, we headed toward Tso Moriri, a sapphire blue colored freshwater lake located 4 530 meters above sea level and spent the night in Karzok, a tiny village next to the lake. A special permit to enter this area is needed since it is close to the Chinese border and in a remote area of Ladakh. On the way Eddie saw yaks and bubbling hot sulphur springs in Chumathang for the first time. Luckily he had his own oxygen supply with him and avoided the worst smell 😉

Enjoying a night with a thundering headache for some travellers, Eddie and his caretakers started the 2-day journey towards Manali and this is when the road conditions got really bad! Meeting large buses and trucks on narrow roads with none or only a few small rocks as safety barriers between us and hundreds of meters to the bottom of the valley, are not for the faint hearted. Sometimes the road had turned into a river, taking big parts of the road with it so we barely managed to pass, or the water almost seeping into our small car. The nerves are also put on test when a new bridge crossing a river is broken and they are fixing the old one who barely clings to the sedimentary rocks on each side of the river. We considered walking over the old bridge, but after watching several military trucks, buses and heavier vehicles make it, we decided to challenge destiny… Luckily we survived all these obstacles (phew!) and arrived safe and sound in Jispa, a small town in the Lahaul district of Himachal Pradesh where glamping in fancy (-ish) tents with ensuite bathrooms was a new and fun experience for Eddie.

The next day, we arrived at Manali (2 050 meters) and it was fantastic to breathe normally again after being short-breathed and light-headed for 1,5 weeks. We stayed 2 nights in the greenery of Manali, trying to decide what to do… Should we go to Spiti Valley, a high altitude moon-landscape but risking rain and mudslides on terrible roads or should we head towards McLeod Ganj, a village on 1 770 meters which houses the residence of Dalai Lama and cross fingers for no rain. Well… we do not like rain and apparently prefer the heat, so all plans were tossed in the bin and we headed towards Rajasthan, the warmest place in India at this time of the year.

It took us 17 hours by car, train and rickshaw to reach Pushkar in Rajasthan and Eddie was super-excited to check into one of the caretaker’s favourite hotels in India. The anticipation of experiencing this atmospheric and peaceful hotel with its amazing view towards the lake and the village was literally crushed the minute we set foot outside the hotel. It was smelly from the open public toilet on the street, the cow dung in front of the reception and the shared bathroom facilities inside the hotel. In addition, the temples next to the lake and the hotel offered pujas all night long… with blaring drums and jingling bells over loudspeakers. Despite this and 42 degrees, Pushkar itself is a wonderful place so Eddie closed his nose and stayed for 2 nights before travelling across the Thar desert to the even warmer climate in Bikaner.

After a rather unsuccessful attempt to take the bus to Bikaner at 6am in the morning, (we jumped on the wrong bus, got kicked out and had to walk for 2 km back to the bus stand where the bus we were supposed to take never showed up) Eddie and caretakers resigned and booked a taxi for the 4 hour drive. It was 45 degrees in Bikaner, which felt like standing in front of a giant blow dryer on max heat, but we managed to stumble ourselves through a sweaty haze and experience Bikaner’s majestic forts, vibrant markets and its rich cultural heritage before we left after 2 days and headed back to the indian capital by train where we looked forward greeting New Delhi’s 38 degrees of “cool air”. The Indian Summer was over the next day and we headed back to Norway, ready to plan new adventures!

Map

Itinerary

Oslo – Delhi

Delhi – Jammu

Jammu – Srinagar

Srinagar – Leh

Leh – Khardung La Pass – Leh

Leh – Tso Moriri

Tso Moriri – Jispa

Jispa – Manali

Manali – Chandigarh

Chandigarh – Ajmer

Ajmer – Pushkar

Pushkar – Bikaner

Bikaner – Delhi

Delhi – Oslo

The movie

Planning

The Himalayas and high mountains of India had always been a dream for Eddie & his caretakers, but as the only time to go there is during the summer and Eddie prefers to spend these months in the north, it seemed like a dream in the far distance. Due to various circumstances, the plan for loooong summer nights with only 2 hours of semi-darkness in the north was changed and the opportunity to make a dream come true suddenly arose and the planning could get started 2 months before departure.

The overall plan was to fly into New Delhi, stay a couple of days in the sweltering heat and jump on an aircon-train to Jammu. Continue on a aircon-bus (…that didn’t happen) to Srinagar and after a few days, rent a car and driver to take us to Leh in the Ladakh region and mainly travel around to different valleys and mountain areas when and wherever we felt like it, before heading back to New Delhi and flying out.

Eddie is well known to India and this would be his 3rd time, so the visa situation was a no-brainer. As mentioned before, his caretakers do like challenges when it comes to visa-applications, but sometimes it’s nice when things are simple.

What we did have to investigate thoroughly was the travel insurance, as part of the itinerary involved Jammu and Kashmir. This is a region the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has discouraged all non-essential travels to, meaning normal travel insurance does not apply. In addition, some insurances do not apply on altitudes over a certain thousand meters due to the risk of altitude sickness.

After checking prices etc. with our own insurance companies and searching for better deals abroad, we ended up buying the insurance in Norway. Given the fact that the trip didn’t have a scientific purpose or we were not going to climb any mountains, this company made an exception despite the travel advice and issued an insurance that allowed us to travel above 4 500 m in the Himalayas. What they didn’t cover and clearly stated was that evacuation and conditions related to war, unrest and terrorism weren’t covered, meaning we would be on our own if that happened… Eddie is not easily scared (neither are his caretakers), so insurance was bought and shortly after, flight tickets were fixed.

Train tickets from New Delhi were booked beforehand on the Indian Railways website and we arranged a driver from Srinagar – Leh through a friend who runs a tour company in Kashmir. Since we like to arrange things on the go, bus tickets and drivers were arranged on the spot. This is not always recommended… but at least it makes some good travel stories afterwards! 😉

Epilogue: As a comment to what travel insurance companies actually should worry about instead of high altitudes and terrorism etc., are the craaazy road conditions and the risk of life you put yourself into when driving on roads in this part of the world…. 😯