Harrowing drive along the Leh-Manali Highway

24-5-15    Hotel Firdous  Leh, Ladakh

I met four chaps from Mumbai at the Hotel Firdous – Sanjay, Weibo, Bondee, and Manosh – who were former classmates from engineering school. They graduated in 2007, and two of them were assistant professors, while one was a former professor who recently quit his job to pursue a government position. Sanjay is now working for a U.S.-based consulting firm.

We had a long chat about the influence of Gandhian economics on the current economy, and they explained to me why there are so many engineering students in India and yet men continue to line the road smashing rocks into bits. They told me that India has an excessive population of illiterate individuals, and if it were not for simple manual labor, they would otherwise have no occupation.

Recounting the best of times in Leh

They offered to take me on a road trip down to Manali and possibly as far south as Chandigargh or even Delhi. It looks like this is shaping up for yet another grand adventure with this new group of friends.

As I say goodbye to the amazing region of Ladakh and the hospitable lodging at the Hotel Firdous, I find myself reminiscing about the memories from this stage of my trip. I remember walking with a paintbrush in hand, eating breakfast omelets, bread, and chai at the tea stalls with local Ladakhi men, and taking hundreds of trips pacing back and forth on the Main Bazaar through busy construction. I recall my walks up to the Shanti Stupa and my meditation on the top of the mountain behind Castle Tsemo, as well as my chats with Pashmina shop owners and the truly village feel of Likir. I think back to playing games with the monk children and the crazy climb up the cliffside from the River Indus to the lovely yellow flower oasis in Alchii.

I will never forget the amazing motorcycle adventure with Mira, Jose, and Mahesh to Pangong Lake and the Nubra Valley over the Khardungla peak (5,602m), or the 35km walk from Panamic (the most northern point for visitors in India) to Sumar. I also have fond memories of seeing the two-humped camels after hitching a ride with a nice family to Hunder, and the 115km, 2-day trek from Leh to Hemis and back. I will always cherish witnessing my first Polo game in Leh and the peace that comes with a longer stay.

Daring ride down the Leh-Manali Highway

The adventure with Manish, Sanjay, and Vaibhav was amazing, and the drive from Leh to Sarchu involved high-speed driving along high cliffs with Sanjay at the wheel. We stayed at the Gaskit Restaurant and slept on an 8-person bed that the owner pulled a dining table up to for us to enjoy breakfast in bed.

We were woken up by Ladakhi women reciting Tibetan Buddhist prayers, and received an ominous warning about poor road conditions due to snowfall and a truck stuck in the road.

We started the drive at 11:30am and encountered a line of cars stopped, waiting for the conditions to improve. A few cars headed up the pass, and we followed suit. Manish and I enjoyed great conversation in the backseat when suddenly the car began slipping off the road and tipping dangerously close to the cliff’s edge. For the next several hours, we were freezing cold, pushing cars and bikes out of ditches and up hills. Miraculously, we made it to Darcha and found lodging at a non-electricity hotel with a spectacular morning view of three rivers converging.

The drive from Darcha up the Rhotang Pass was beautiful, straight through Manali and with a respite in Kullu. However, the drive with Sanjay at the wheel, making blind curve passes, was terrifying. We made it to Soniput, just north of Delhi, and after making it all the way along the Leh-Manali highway unscathed, someone rear-ended our SUV in a tunnel.