The unfolding of the ?Ladakh saga?
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The Preamble:What started as a harmless joke on the forums of ?Photography Club of India? which we lovingly call as PCI is soon to become a reality, 4 unknowns to bind, to enter into wedlock of friendship and create a trip of a lifetime. I?ll be honest and reluctantly admit, that there was a time, when I had nearly succumbed and wanted to back out, but, would like to convey heartfelt thanks to ?Somnath Goswami? from Kolkata, a good human being and an astute photographer who shamed me by emailing me his trip schedule aptly labeled: ?
Solo Iterinary?.
The duo turned into a trio as the ?Nawab of Lucknow? as Rishabh is fondly called joined us. We soon became a foursome with Subhas Datta aka ?Blue?from Kolkata giving his assent, we nearly were on the verge of becoming the Famous Five had ?Binoy? not decided to opt out due to pressing official engagements.
A trip as colossal as this was bound to have problem areas, The iterinary that spanned well beyond a fortnight was a long period for those friends who could not get such an extended leave of absence from work, the financials at 40K per person also proved to be somewhat of a dampener for many. The transportation, the accommodation, were all logistical challenges that had to be met. But, challenge is the pathway to engagement and progress in our lives, ain?t it??
. Strong beliefs in ourselves and the optimism within the group, ably fuelled by good wishes and ample bits of advice from the PCI brethren kept us on even keel. The good thing was, we had 4 months to plan this trip and to ensure that we came back ?trumps?with our smiles intact and a lifelong bonding between four new friends.
The net was amply researched, hundreds of docs were printed, phone calls to my friends in the army resulted in a plethora of useful information. I would here like to specially thank my very good friends: Col. Amitabh, Col.Zahl and Col. Saneev for their invaluable help. ?Heartfelt Thank you guys!!? A lot of useful info was obtained from the following sites:
http://devilonwheels.com/,
www.bcmtouring.com/,
www.hivayking.in/ and
www.indiamike.com/. Forums were scrounged for past Ladakh trips and points of interest along with declared pitfalls were duly noted. The D Day having come, Somanth is to fly down from Kolkata to Delhi and rendezvous with Rishabh who would take an overnight train and from my last telecom they were supposed to be clicking selfies at the IG Airport waiting for their onward flight to Srinagar. Subhas Datta would be flying from Delhi tomorrow ie the 17th of August and I would take the 5a.m bus for Pathankot tomorrow and catch a train at 9.15 a.m for an onward 2 hour journey to Jammu Tawi where hopefully I should be in time to catch the 2.45 flight for Srinagar. I would be joined at the airport by Subhas who has graciously decided to wait for me even though I would land good 20 minutes after him. Thank you Subhas!
The latest update The guys have landed in Srinagar safely and have checked into a hotel facing the renowned dal Lake.
We for sure are going to do Confucius proud when he said: ?Wherever you go, go with all your heart?
Cheers more to follow?
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