Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Day 2: Day stay in Leh: Local Sightseeing


We really wanted to take it easy today especially after the harried day 1. My brother fell ill today and caught Viral Fever, for the rest of the trip, my Sister in law, my nephew and brother just stayed put in Leh. Sadly they really didn’t get to see anything. But they spend time in the Army guest house, recovered from the illness and learned so much about Army. This was pretty much the view for my brother for the rest of the week... not bad eh!!
View from the Army Camp

In the morning, we split up, I stayed back home with Miss V and my brother etc. While my parents, Sumit and Little Lady went on the first local trip:

Choglamsar, Shanti Stupa and getting used to breathing!

This is according to Sumit, The Dalai Lama was visiting Choglamsar on the day and though my parents could not see him, the peace surrounding the Choglamsar Monastery was breathtaking.

According to my mum and Sumit, Shanti Stupa is one of the most serene places to go to. It is a landmark in Leh and definitely worth a visit!

Shanti Stupa: Picture from Internet

In the afternoon after a nap and lots of water, Miss V felt better and wanted to head out. She had done loads of research for Leh and Ladakh. While the rest of the family rested up, the four of us headed out to follow Miss V's recommended itinerary for the evening. 
Hall of Fame- Magnetic Hill- Sangam

Hall of Fame: A must watch. This museum shows history on all the wars of India, the tough training conditions for the Indian Army and above all a history of war that has shaped our country!
The army Jawan 'Sudhirji' accompanying us through the trip was a veteran of the Kargil war and seeing this hall of fame with him was priceless
Miss V: Impressed by the Hall of Fame. Salute!


Pathar Gurudwara:
This is a Gurudwara amidst the hills and the 'Pathar: Stone' has an interesting story to it. Read it here. 
It was so peaceful here. 
Gurudwara: The peace within


After Chai and some langar we headed off to my daughter's highest recommendation: Magnetic Hill
En route for our Langar



Magnetic Hill: Of course it’s touristy.
MIss V: She get credit for this- she designed the itinerary

But your car is turned off in Neutral gear and in between two hills and car is moving in the opposite direction to the slope due to 'Magnetism' It is impressive. I think Miss V wanted to just stay here!

The drive to Magnetic hill is flat and simple, but the views are breathtaking, the brown hills get prettier by every curve.
We are flying.... at Magnetic Hill


We then headed to Sangam: Or meeting of the two rivers: Indus & Zanskar.
Beautiful & Serene

You can see from the pictures that the color of the water is different: It changes they say, Whichever river has more flow of water, has a lighter color since less soil gets mixed it! In our case Sanskar to the right was lighter.
Finally!! A family Picture





Though we wanted to stay longer, we had a long road ahead! we really wanted to 'take it easy' per our hosts recommendations considering no one wanted to fall ill due to acclimatization.

Next Day: Was our first trip: Pangong Tso... the 3 idiots lake... More to Follow

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