I travelled.. You read!: LEH April 2013 day 7

Day 7 - pangong lake

Today was the day we were to travel to pangong, to see the beautiful Pangong Lake. From Leh one has to drive upto Upshi where the road forks. One road goes to Hemis monastery and other goes to Pangong.

To reach Pangong we had to cross the changla pass. The changla top is at a 17600 feet.

The drive as we neared Changla was through snowed down mountains. Just like it was in Khardungla. There was a souvenir shop here at the pass, run by the army. We alighted for a cup of chai and then some memento shopping. One can give the store a miss. But the pass was as intimidating as Khardungla. We had to rush back to the car as the altitude and the very cold air was making breathing difficult.

It is nearly a 4 hr drive from leh to Pangong. We were to stay the night at Pangong. In a tented accommodation.

A lot of people prefer to leave Leh early in the morning and return to Leh the same evening, spending about an hour at Pangong. There are plenty of spots here where reasonably good and fresh food is available for the tourist. There are various points where the restaurants are situated and cars park around the place for the food , and to have an eyeful of the lake.

When we had made our vacation plan, we were told that the lake would be frozen as it wld be early May. The snow starts melting around the 2nd week of may and it is only in June that the famed blue blue blue Pangong presents herself to the awestruck audience.

In early may the mountains surrounding the lake were also expected to be covered with snow. With only basic tented accommodation available we were looking at spending a windy and extremely cold night at Pangong. As much as the idea of spending a lot of time at the lake – frozen or not – was an exciting one, we really did not know whether we would be able to bear the extreme cold.. a frozen Pangong…. We tried to cheer ourselves – after all it was a matter of one night. Also was very curious and intrigued abt seeing the frozen lake. ab yeh nazara dekh lete hain, bluewala Pangong phir kabhi. But still there was that wee bit of disappointment . The rains and snow over the past 2 days had eliminated any hope that the snow would have melted away.

Changla was also thick with snow.

As we were descending we spotted the marmot, which resembles the meercat. The plump animals were frolicking in the snow, occasionally burying themselves in the muddy burrow. They made a cute sight when they stood on their hind legs. One felt like holding their 2 forefeeet and walking them as we would, little babies.

as the snowed down mountains gave way to the bare rocky mountains, we saw a herd of wild asses at a meadow.

We drive on and on, and I am looking out of the window. The road we are traveling on will eventually end in the village of Chushool which is close to the china border. The driver who was an ex army man and who has served at the base camp if Siachen, pointed out to the places the media had visited and made claims that they were just kms away from the advancing Chinese army. We were astounded. We had actually thought of canceling this vacation fearing trouble.

I had read a couple of blogs which had mentioned that while u are driving to Pangong, along the mountains, suddenly the mountains separate to let u have your first sight of the lake. I was looking out for it. And out of the blue I saw it. I pointed it out to the khaandaan and we were jumping in our seats with happiness. I had seen the lake….and it had so many shades .. purplish ..aqua greenish …blue buish… all at once.

Haahaaaaaaaaa the snow over the lake had melted … it was not frozen. But we didn’t want to celebrate ahead of time and waited with bated breath till we drove out of the mountains and down to the lake. Yes… the snow had melted or drifted away. the lake was clear. The mountains surrounding it were clear too. Yippeeee….. we were in luck.

The Pangong delivered. It was beautiful.just as a I had read, just as I had seen it in pictures and in the movies…the colours changed every second. Along with the sunlight. Every corner looked different. At one time it was a Mauritius blue, then it was a pale green ,then a dark navy blue, then a sky blue, then a bright turquoise ,then a plain white…..we stood still and admired. The mountains around looked as if they were standing guard . the lake cupped in between them.

We had our packed lunch on the banks and proceeded to the camp . camp watermark. And what do we see…. The campsite hadn’t been set up. The tents were raised. But the beds, mattresses, chairs, bathroom fittings all lay in the centre of the camp. As if it had been hit by an earthquake. They weren’t prepared for the season. Nor to receive us. We then checked out other sites and zeroed on in one. There are plenty of tented acco options available at pangong lake.

The camps are basic. Beds and comforters inside , self contained ones with attached bath and toilets. The have running hot water. Yes.. the boys at the camp run between tents delivering the hot water.

Pangong is a salt water lake. A lake that is shared by India and china . the part which is in china is the sweet water end.

Power supply is thru generator. Frm 7.00 pm to 9.30. pm.

Today was the first sunny day the locals had experienced in a long long time ever since the season commenced a fortnight ago. And though the temp tonigt would drop below 0, they are saying “aaj mausam theek hai aur thandi bhi kuch zyaada nahi….. and we were looking at them saying in our minds – kya bhai? mazaak kar rahe ho kya?

I was hoping to click a lot of pictures at sunset. Had even convinced the husband to walk to the lake and then even go for a short drive, looking for a good photo op. but the colors that had so fascinated us in the evening had disappeared. The lake was a dull gray . Though at some points in the lake the water was still and the mountains around mirrored beautifully in them.

It is cold. Freezing cold. Aaj toh temperature minus mein hain, they said. Any activity , be it walking to the dining hall or to the lake , or even picking up or bags is causing us to breathe heavily. The cold is making it difficult to breathe, the breath as it goes down the wind pipe is felt clearly and u feel as if u are choking for a while…something sharp thrust down yr throat. And it is as bad inside the tent. We are now wrapping a scarf around our nose and mouth too.

The layers of clothing and woolens is making movt difficult. We are wobbling like the Wobbly man from one of my favourite cartoon shows on TV.. Noddy.

None of us want to make ourselves useful. We all look at each other to pass around things like an extra pair of sock or cap or glove. .

The tents are basic but they provide u with extra blankets, hot water bottles and hot water in thermos flasks for u to sip on in the night. They remind you to drink the hot water and not the bottle water that we have brought along,coz the room temperature water is really really very cold.

The family has retired for the night by 9.00. we had brought a couple of movies and tv serials to watch when the power goes off. But the husband and daughter have had it rough because of the cold winds and they were in bed by 9.00.

The power went off by 9,30. I had to wait as I was charging the gadgets turn by turn in the dining hall as that was the only place where there were plug points.

The resort has had a good occupancy with a major crwd frm Mumbai and delhi. Most have travelled by road from srinagar via kargil and drass.

We were given to believe that the adventure seeking tourists arrive in Leh only later inn may. But they are here and pouring in daily. In a way we are glad that we are leaving for Mumbai the day after.

We plan to wake up at sunrise around 5.30 am, to see the lake in the early morning sunlight. Hoping that it would be a great sight and worth the trouble that we are undergoing .. what with the cold.