Pang was a welcome relief for all of us. It's really nothing but a village of seven tents that are in business during summer and shut shop during winter. For us, it was nothing less than a life saver. I have never been so happy to see food in my life (Even though my friends will vouch for the fact that I'm a foodie). Nonetheless, the effects of the last night hadn't gone away completely. People usually acclimatize in comfortable hotel rooms; we had done so at the back of a bus. The area is again characterised by the appalling lack of toilets. I went up to a lady and asked her where I could use one, and she conveniently asked me to go use the river! Anyway, I went up a certain distance on the hillslope, to bru
sh my teeth, and I stood with my brush in my mouth looking around for about 30 seconds before my lungs started to cry for air and I came back down panting like I had run ten miles. When I returned, Dhar was sharing his insights on the upsides to the events that had unfolded the day before. Dhar was particularly happy that the whole day went off without us spending a single penny! Of course someone forgot to tell El Snore-o that we'd nearly lost our lives!After a quick breakfast, we hit the road again. Soon after Pang we hit a vast, flat plain(above). The desert was beginning to take shape. The flat plain seemed endless. We almost forgot where we were till we started our ascent towards our last and highest pass, Taglang La at 5600 metres. This time we all had our fingers crossed. No one really had any energy left in case we got stuck again. The view from the top was worth all the trouble. We could practically see the whole Pang Valley from the zero point on the pass. Taglang La is the second highest motorable pass in the world. It has the sec
ond highest temple in the world and until recently had the second highest toilets in the world. Now they just let you go under the open sky in the freezing cold with a great view to please the senses.(Above: The view from Taglang La)
After Taglang La, it was just a straight descent into the Indus valley which is quite truly God's work. Even the mountains look weird in their shape and cut out. At every turn, the mountains change their colour. The areas neighbouring the
rivers are green which gives way to bare mountainsides till you reach snow. At Upshi, we got our first glimpse of the Indus, which quite frankly, is an event that occurs in few Indian lives. Just beyond Upshi, we got one other thing that we had been denied for the last two days-signal. And then, came pouring in, the phone calls from Delhi. One parent after another, all worried to death as predicted, and each had to be told a provisional and modified version of the experience of the last two days, to prevent further worry.
By three in the afternoon, we'd entered the gates of Leh. At Leh, reached four weary travelers, who may have been crippled in terms of body, but the eyes still shone as brightly as they did the day they had left Delhi. Leh, we're here to bathe in your splendour!
(Above: Divine forces at work in the Indus Valley, The first sighting of the Indus)
ond highest temple in the world and until recently had the second highest toilets in the world. Now they just let you go under the open sky in the freezing cold with a great view to please the senses.(Above: The view from Taglang La)After Taglang La, it was just a straight descent into the Indus valley which is quite truly God's work. Even the mountains look weird in their shape and cut out. At every turn, the mountains change their colour. The areas neighbouring the
rivers are green which gives way to bare mountainsides till you reach snow. At Upshi, we got our first glimpse of the Indus, which quite frankly, is an event that occurs in few Indian lives. Just beyond Upshi, we got one other thing that we had been denied for the last two days-signal. And then, came pouring in, the phone calls from Delhi. One parent after another, all worried to death as predicted, and each had to be told a provisional and modified version of the experience of the last two days, to prevent further worry.By three in the afternoon, we'd entered the gates of Leh. At Leh, reached four weary travelers, who may have been crippled in terms of body, but the eyes still shone as brightly as they did the day they had left Delhi. Leh, we're here to bathe in your splendour!
(Above: Divine forces at work in the Indus Valley, The first sighting of the Indus)
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