| Diary Name :Trekking_Ladakh | Diary Author : sue_and_nathan | Show all entry summaries
for Trekking_Ladakh |
Date :26th June 2006 - 6th September 2006 |
| Number of Diary Entries : 6 | | Miles Travelled : 0 | | Beds Slept In : 0 |
| A 35 day trip to Ladakh in Northern India. We have 3 trekking trips booked with plenty of rest days in between. We will base ourselves in the capital - Leh which is a short plane ride from Delhi but it is at 3500m. So being short of breath will be a way of life for awhile! |
Show Trekking_Ladakh
page by page |
| |
| Countries Visited : Australia, India |
Read all diaries
by sue_and_nathan |
| |
|
| 6 Sep 2006 : Tsomoriri and beyond - India Gasping for breath IV: Hardcore trekking | 12 photos attached | |
| Well, we bought the sleeping bags to keep us snug down to minus 10 degrees and on this last trek we really tested them! On the morning of day five we woke just after sunrise to discover the outside of the tent frozen and the mercury reading minus 6 degrees!!
This final trek - called a high altitude trek - was a real challenge taking us from Rumtse to Tsomoriri. Seven passes in 5 days - the highest being around 17,500 ft - never dipping below 14,000ft and one night camping just below 17,000 ft. ...More... |
|
| 17 Aug 2006 : Domkhar, Ladakh - India Gasping for breath III: The Domkhar Tea Experience | 10 photos attached | |
| Tea in these parts is a complicated business and rather different from what we're used to. Firstly the tea itself - Solja Kante - is tea, butter and salt churned together into which, if the fancy takes you, you can mix a couple of spoonfuls of tsampa (roasted barley flour) making it something more akin to soup than a cuppa! Then comes the tea ritual itself. When the tea gets poured out you don't start drinking until the host is there with the flask ready to pour another cup - you then take a sip and it'll be refilled immediately. ...More... |
|
| 7 Aug 2006 : Nubra Valley, Ladakh - India Gasping for breath II: A little bit too much adventure | 8 photos attached | |
| On the third day of our Nubra Valley trek we are woken by Tashi with the usual, " Sue... Nathan... bed tea." I rustle out of my sleeping bag, unzip the tent door and tuck into my boiling hot cup of morning chai. We are up and packing our gear when Tashi appears again with two bowls full of hot water for our morning wash and half an hour later, our guide, Dorjey (or Lama-ji as we all call him as he is a monk) has taken the decision that we're ditching the dining tent this morning for an al-fresco breakfast. ...More... |
|
| 28 Jul 2006 : Sham, Ladakh - India Gasping for breath I : Sham Trek | 5 photos attached | |
| We were nervous - to say the least - about our first Himalayan trekking experience. We were worried about everything from being able to breath, to our muscles holding up. So we decided to go for the slowly, slowly approach and started off with the 'baby trek' in the Sham region of Ladakh. Also, we decided to stay at people's homes along the way, rather than camping - so basically we went for the luxury option!!
We took a taxi from Leh to a little village called Likir with our guide, Dorjay and helper, Tashi. ...More... |
|
| 18 Jul 2006 : Leh, Ladakh - India High altitude days | 6 photos attached | |
| So, after months of training we said goodbye to Sydney and the very special friends we have made there amd headed off to the high Himalayas in Northern India enroute to the UK. It seems bets are on to how long we will end up back in England but, at the moment, 6 months is the odds-on favourite!!
After a seven hour stopover in Hong Kong, where we watched news of the blasts in Bombay, we landed in Delhi at two in the morning. ...More... |
|
| 26 Jun 2006 : Sydney - Australia Leaving Sydney (for now) | |
| So after three and a half years we are on the move again. The plans have been made, the gear has been bought, the training has gone well (despite a few back problems) - so we have commenced the packing of boxes. We fly to India in 2 weeks time to see the Himalayas close up. Some people have asked us why we aren't content to see the Himalayas from a distance (like from a warm Goan beach) or buy a nice picture book or watch a National Geographic film. Well, some things you just have to see in person I reckon! |
