..:: 664. The One With O Leh ::..

22hr jeep ride to leh was no joke. left manali at 2am and reached leh at 1230am. the ride was sick, literally. didnt realise we travelled on one of the highest pass in the world. couldnt acclimatise, suffered from mild acute mountain sickness (AMS).

but it was all worth it when we were here. everywhere u could see the himalayan range. we were on a shared jeep, each person 1500rs cos the mini bus no vacancy and state buses not in operation yet. was in the jeep with a french lady, a belgium and a czech guy and 4 other indian nationals.

reached leh at 1230am, autos were nowhere to be found. had to approach a tout who brought us to a nearby hotel at old fort road. managed to bargain for 250rs for a double room.

stayed in hotel mayflower for the first night cos not enough rooms at hotel t-suru. finally met our first singaporean couple who happened to be jaron's salsa partners at jitterbugs.

together we booked a jeep (1550rs each) to nubra valley which was awesome. went through the highest motorable pass in the world and started snowing. i think the diskit monastery was the best out of the diskit-hunder-sumor-panamik trail. hunder was like a desert but much cooler. sumor cant remember lol. panamik is a miserable hot spring. hotel snow palace at hunder was a killer, except for the hot pink room, the dinner (all-you-can-eat) was 200rs which of cos i cant eat much cos its spicy and boring. breakfast - toast and egg was 100rs. insane.

seems like yash had a great time alone in leh lol. oriental guesthouse is the place to be. great view, incredible breakfast (omelet, cheese rosti), lcd plasma tv, 22 inch samsung lcd for internet and a library with lots of books...

sadly the rafting pass not opened yet :(

took a state bus to srinagar. so much better. and it only cost 500rs.