A DAY AT PANGONG TSO

It takes a pleasant 5 hour journey crossing the Chang la the third highest road to  Pangong Tso from Leh. At a height of over 14500 feet, tourists usually cover this in a day, but then it becomes only a photo op. Pangong means a long narrow enchanted lake, and it is truly enchanting.

To enjoy Pangong, one must allow it to soak  completely on . Its unbelievably beautiful, so much so,  today, I wonder was it really so.

Stay a day at the tents on the bank, walk along the lake, watch the interplay of the sun on the color of the lake and the naked mountains, wake up at dawn at 4.30 AM then continue the same routine.

Some Afternoon shots

The glow of setting sun on the mountains

Early morning sun on the tents along the river bank

Late morning pictures

The Hemis Monastery Festival

The Hemis Festival - The only festival to be celebrated in summer, and we almost missed it. The itinerary was to visit the Nubra Valley, and we were turned back from atop the Khardung la  due to heavy snow fall and without a moment of hesitation we drove down to Hemis.

The Monastery again situated in the Indus valley is among the largest and the festival amid snow fall was enchanting to say the least.

The festival unfolds with rhythmic beating of the musical instruments and a dance of young monks.

Later starts the slow rhythmic mask dance of individuals first and then in group of two or three. The mask itself interesting- some ferocious and some gentle

Finally culminating in a procession to the accompaniment of the musical instruments-A once in a life time opportunity.

Monasteries of Leh-II

Of the many Monasteries- Leh boast of,  the most popular ones on the tourist circuit are the Thiskey and Hemis, followed by Shey, Tsemo, Spiutik, Stakna, Stok.

The Tsemo Monastery almost in ruins over looks the Leh town. It sort of visible from most of the town is a delight to see in the evening sun.  Though one gets a different perceptive of this monument at various time of the day.

  

Shey - the old capital of Ladkah is a at a very short distance from Thiskey. The complex though much smaller, houses both the Palace and the the Monastery.  The beauty of this Monastery again is the nearly 40 feet statue of the Shakya Muni, covering three floors of the monastrery. Seen here is the top portion on the third floor. 

The Spituk Gompa - againg situated upon a Hillock overlooking the airport is unique in sense, it houses the statues of Kali Matha. Like any other monasteries, this too house many a statues, Paintings and ancient relics. Great to spend time.

Monasteries of Leh-1

Finally Lehd.  Always wondered  what makes a traveler to Leh to be Lehd. Where lack of oxygen take the breath away, where on the first day my wife had to be treated for Acute Mountain Sickness and administered oxygen  and again later on driving toward Tsomorori  in every sort of landscape one can imagine (dry desert, high mountain cliffs , rough road which can hardly qualify as a road, snow filled on wither side oxygen) administered  oxygen and Glucose  at a Military hospital set up in wilderness and yet again at  a ITBP camp (thanks to these people who were so caring). Missing Nubra valley due to a blizzard like situation  on the Kardung La-facing the vagaries of the weather, one will surely be Lehd . So much so wanting to badly go back.

Thiskey Monastery- amount  19 kms from Leh, situated atop a hill top in the Indus Valley  and said to resemble the Potala Place in Tibet

A grand complex with many buildings, consisting of prayer halls, Nunnery and housing many ancient relics and  priceless Thangka art

Most beautiful is this 49 feet statues of Maitreya - The future Buddha

An many such statues in the monastery

Phalgham

En route to Phalgham in October is dotted with saffron fields, Apple orchards and at some location  shops  selling cricket bats made of Kashmiri willow. Most tourist prefer to make a same day return trip from Srinagar, Spending a day at Phalghan is and travelling up the slopes is however rewarding.

   Chandanwari- the first steps to the shrine of Amarnath. This must be one beautiful trek.

         The Beetab Valley So named after the Sunny Deol-Amritha Singh movie  shot here.

        A ride up on ponies riding through beautiful slopes with pine trees 

     Ends up in a surprisingly flat rich meadow. Called Kashmirs Switzerland, the meadows are extremely                      beautiful.

But the journey downhill on the ponies was quite frightening  with the horse slipping many a time. Again Kudos to Indian Tourist.

Namma Bengaluru Aralithu

Namma Bengaluru Aralithu- The City which we love to hate and hate to love is  full bloom. Spent some time  in the erstwhile  Anglo-Indian Areas  of Bangalore -the Richmond Town, Benson Town, Richards town, Pottery Town Cox Town etc. Wow! The bloom on the roads is so unbelievably fantastic and more so is the carpet of flowers s on the roads which make in even more beautiful. The Purples, the Yellows, the pinks, The whites and many other hues.

If this is Bengaluru today, I imagine how  beautiful it  would have been just two decades back. not for nothing was it a Pensioners Paradise

Sonmarg-Meadow of Gold

To think of it I almost missed it. Thanks to PNS sab, whose travelogue is par excellence (http://paliakara.blogspot.in) and whose travel to Kashmir  formed a good basis for my trip insisted I include Sonmarg, . It surely would have been a costly miss. 'cos I felt this is the most beautiful of all the splendors of Kashmir.

The Journey itself was so beautiful, about 90 kms from Srinagar, for most of the journey the river Sindh flow on with us with the snow clad mountains in background.

Truly Meadow of Gold, a little away from the hustle of the tourist centre are some beautiful picnic spots-  reminded me of the Von Trapp  children picnicking and singing  tune of Do re me in the movie Sound of Music

This being on the ancient silk route, the Zojila Pass is only a little away and the the decent starts into another paradise-Ladhak via Kargil. About 5 kms away is the Thajiwas Glaciers, one need to hire ponies to see the snow clad glaciers-I for that matter choose to stay on in these pristine environment.

Mugal Gardens of Srinagar

Kashmir is projected as a all season tourist location. Winters are beautiful, Summers are in full bloom each season  having its own charm. But if its for the beauty of gardens, then summer is the best time. At the start of winter - gardens are not at their best, yet the beauty is for to see. Among the best gardens built by the Mugals on the banks if the Dal are the Nishat, Shalimar and the Chasma Shahi

The smallest of the gardens is the Chasma Shahi- Built by Shah Jahan for his Son Dara Shiko. The central attraction of this garden is a small spring, around which the garden is planned

Shalimar Garden- The biggest of all built for Nur Jahan by Jahangir

To me the best is the Nishat Gardens. Built right on the banks of the Dal Lake on one side and the snow clad Mountain ranges on the other, this is a the most beautiful ! Probably the beauty would be multifold in summer with water gushing through the many pools and all the fountains spewing up water.

Dal Lake

The first touch point on a visit to Kashmir Valley- The Dal Lake. Immortalised by the Melodious song from Shammi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore. Spread over a vast area and surrounded by many of the gardens crafted by the Mughals and the Himalayan range in the background all add to the aura of the lake.

Lined by house boats so much frequented by tourist. To discover the true beauty of Dal- One must not only stay at the house boat, but also take the Shikara ride twice, once in the morning and one after  sunset. 

The ride in the evening is marvelous  Floating idyllically on the lake with the boatman gently paddling  the waters. Watching the floating markets (shopping for visitors and  catering to the needs of the locals) laying back in  delight. Truly Wonderful!

Air Show Bangalore

A long time wish and finally, I was there. The high octane atmosphere, the booming sound of the jet engines, the perfect symphony of fluid motion, pushed the adrenalin level high.

Easily the star performers, the Russians in their Sukhoi , was a treat to watch.

This flying bull team led by the the gusty 64 years old lady Radka Machova, was heart stopping least to say. Some of theirmanoeuvres were definitely not for the weak hearted.

The Sarang Team from the Indian Airforce in colourful Dhruv Helicopters

Boeing C-17 Globemaster taking to skies

Vishwa Shant Stupa, New delhi

Whenever I drive past the many monuments  in Delhi, History floods  me, I long to spend a month or so, exploring the many unexplored monuments lying in almost the entire Delhi, research them, Photograph them. I hope to do this some time, at least in parts.

The Vishwa Shanti Stupa is the latest addition to the monument of Delhi. Located on the ring road on the way to Noida on a huge plot of land, the Viswa Shanti Stupa was inaugurated in the presence of the Dalai Lama in 2007 and house the relic of the Sakya Muni.

I have seen similar Stupa in Darjeeling and my research of Ladhak shows one in Leh too.  The landscaping of the  sprawling grounds is yet to be completed,  the adjacent millennium park with eateries around should make a good picnic place in the evenings.