At the army camp, Khaltsi
campfire area
officers mess
Dr kiran maribashetti alias kudre in a pensive mood
beer by the indus river
its coming
and its come !!!
felt good sipping beer by the indus with a good ol friend
ishu village across the indus
evening walk
with the officer comanding
sunset
the army camp
the doc in his chamber
we minded our heads :)
towards temisgam village
pretty himalayan village
monastry on top
with the stream flowing
houses sitting pretty
its a nice dream, hope it becomes a reality
the fort
temisgam monastery
it was a nice climb
lush green among the arid mountains
love those colorful prayer flags
wonder where that road goes
backdrop
paintings inside the monastery
the doors
we were the only tourists there
more prayer flags
the fort and the monastery
they came and wished “juley” (hello in ladhki) so sweetly
they wished me and left like they knew me for ages
the trolley to cross the indus to go to the ishu village, the only way to get there
the brigadier's wife left first
he pulled us hard
on the other side on indus
they were waiting for their turn on the trolley
logs waiting to shipped across the river
the pose,the click,the watch and the final click
wonder what was being discussed
buddhist prayer stones
walking down to the village
the village had only 2 houses
the leh srinagar highway on the other side
one of the 2 houses
their field
the apricot farm
they were really tasty
exploring the apricot farm
the apricot seed
the ripe ones
and we got a handful
with the localite
as we posed
apricots everywhere
brothers in arms
the fresh water stream from the mountains is their only source of water
mineral water in the true sense
and it was ice cold
tried the local beer “chang”
its was a lil strong for this budweiser addict
the doc approved it
their grinding stone in the bark of the tree
he said he had diluted the beer for us :)
their vegetable garden for their daily needs
he pulled them out
washed them in the stream
and they were sooper tasty
their livestock which they get to their village by cross the frozen indus during winters
dry fruits for guests
he wanted us to fill our pockets, we did and we were glad we did :)
on our way back
the army camp again
our man friday
the village visitors
desi avatar
and they left
and so did we
wonder who was that old man with white hair
towards the darchin village with armed guards in the army jeep
the road carved out of the mountains
aryan settles from the darchin village
they are said to be from alexanders army who settled down in kashmir
they are considered to be of the pure aryan race, they do not marry outside of their community
brig hs panag, my dear miss gul panag's ( x-miss india ) dad :)
one star car of our brigadier uncle
to keep the live stock
the aryan villagers, they dont look indian
visiting their house
the blue eyed kids
the man of the house showed us how they made tea, aryan style
the lady of the house
as we chatted
they take pride in decorating their kitchen
a peek into their lives was a nice experience for us
their jeep, one star
our jeep, no star :(
they just missed crashing into the river, they got out as if nothing had happened
at the gorkha regiment
the man with the gun :)
rafting in the indus
full rafting gear
it was a 28kms experience
it was amazing
my first time on the raft
with the bombay boy
and his better half
our anchor
yea, thats me !!!
the rafting team
another pose
guru swam a distance
i got into the water and it so chilling cold
where the indus joined the zanskar river, the difference in the color
co-anchor
indus and zanskar
in the end
mysore yoga practitioners from denmark
indus joining zanskar, better view
anti gravity, you vehical climbs up a slope by itself with the ignition off, will post the vedio soon
the bar, at the officers mess
luxury where you least expect it
we downed a lot of drinks here, thanks to our army friends :)
army chopper
this was an army aviation unit
the seats could have been better :)
wonder where they look
with our army man
we still had to do these places
you'll be surprised how the landscape changes
this place looks like the surface on moon, its called moonland,
closer look
its on the way to kargil
lamayuru
lamayuru monastery
they pose for money
the board says it all
loaded donkeys
flat tire :( thankfully the only one on the entire trip
they fixed it
buddha at mulbek
on the way to kargil
guest house in kargil
that was the last thing on our minds
wondering who those personalities were
kargil, reminded me of kabul from kiterunner
shuru river flowing by kargil
memorial of soldiers who died during the kargil war, on the way to drass
the board dint help us feel better
during the war, the enemies were sitting across on top of the mountain
tin cans on the fence, they act as an alarm if there is an intruder
tiger hill
they were practising for the 10th anniversary celebrations of the kargil war
tiger hill again
the war memorial
soliders who died
captured ammunitions of the pak army
walking in such high altitudes who tire us, wonder how they faught a war
yeh dil maange more
pak stuff
indian armageddon
loved this :)
granites
??
soldier from karnataka
all armed
the temp has reached -60 degrees in the winter of 1995
the road to paradise
these kids were having fun on the road
zojila was mind blowing
lush green, this what makes zojila pass to amazing
frozen stream
ice on top, water at the bottom
it drove us mad
froxen river
winding roads
ice and water
sonmarg, further ahead
army choppers
sonmarg
who smiles most contest , and the winner is ???
sonmarg sits pretty amist all the greenery
srinagar
dal lake
our beautiful house boat
the dining
the living
bfast
shikaras
market on the lake
our lake taxi
dal lake, ia a treat to ones eyes
lotus and houseboats
dal lake is illusionary
the shikara stand
thats a photo studio on the lake
cleaning the lake
nishad bagh
terrace garden
school kids on a picnic
enjoying their lunch
this is where shahjahan said, “if there is heaven on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here”
phool aur mali
hazrat bal
i asked him whats “badaa” ?? he explained, i said its “vada”, he said “big deal, all the same”
hazart bal, the prophet's hair is said be in here
vendor of sweets
old srinagar
once grand hotels, now abandoned
few are still around, but they locals miss their good old tousist days
its quite a popular restaurant
kashmiri wazwani khana
delicious !!!
kashmiri kawa, hot drink
special way of making it, with coal in the middle to keep it warm
with saffron inside, tastes great
this was once the british residents residency
grand old place
pashmina shawl, made from the pashmina mountain goats, costs a bomb. Mr guru is a proud owner of one
house boats
shops on boats
restaurant on the lake
beautiful structures
very very relaxing
delux house boats, the top end ones
flaoting garden
my boat man
each house boat has got a name
my boatman
market
army camp on the lake
our house boat
in the night its like a thousands lights dancing on the lake, simply amazing
in the morning
as we left
the beauty is too much to take
fell in love with it
the dal is undoubtedly once of THE most beautiful places i have seen
i just din feel like leaving
but had to
on the way to jammu
armed gaurds at every 100 mts
they gaurded us even as we ate :)
this guy put his tongue and got out the dirt in guru eye which was troubling him no ends
we had swets here but not the fod
in the end, 3 weeks and 2500 kms later
