Getting up well rested is generally the best start to the day, and so it was today. I have to admit, after yesterday's puncture episode, I was a bit shaken (but certainly not stirred :p). All the same, I was excited to start the 'real' off road experience! Today's route was going to be along the river Shyok, and on occasions cutting through the river bed. Today was also going to be the last available petrol bunk , with none available over the next few days. Generally, tourists return back to Leh from the Nubra valley and then ride down to Pangong. However, this route through Shyok has gained popularity recently since it takes you directly to Pangong from Nubra, with the added adventure quotient.
After having a rather avoidable breakfast at the guest house, I was on my way. The network was going to be intermittent, so I downloaded and used offline maps. Rode back towards Diskit and then Khalsar, tanked up at the petrol bunk here to the last possible drop of fuel the bike could take. I knew yesterday's puncture episode was going to play mind games with me, and it started to pan out exactly that way, with 'oh I think I have another puncture!' thoughts coming up randomly. I stopped a couple of times just to check on this, only to realize that everything's fine.
No sooner I deviated from Khalsar towards Agham, I lost mobile network connectivity altogther. The road went from bad to worse on the one hand, but incredibly beautiful on the other. Frequency of vehicles plying on this 'road' was much lesser than others so far. Encountered first of the many, many more water crossings to come. Met a huge gang of people from Bangalore as I neared Pangong, 3 of them on rented motorcycles, the rest in tempo travellers.
Few kms before pangong, there was a block to clear off rocks from a land slide. Spent a good 45 mins there with this group from bangalore - was fun sharing some 'mixtures' those guys were carrying from namma uru! As I continued after clearance of the block, I got the first glimpse of the mighty Pangong Tso. What an incredible sight it was! It was mesmerizing, and I could not wait to get closer to the lake. I asked one of the locals on how to get there. Apparently, there is a 'shooting point' where 3 idiots was shot, and there would be a trail to follow on the left which would take you there.
I continued to ride further, but could not see any trail to get down to the lake. After a short while, I noticed a very small trail down the mountain, which seemed to be getting to the lake. It looked very treacherous and steep! After all the off roading today so far, I was ready for more, and I took this trail in my desperation to get to the lake. It was much more challenging than I expected, but the Xpulse was shining in its full glory in this terrain! What an incredible machine.
Once I climbed down the mountain, I rode my way to the lake. Parked the bike, got my riding gears off in a hurry and walked to the lake. A sight to behold! I was finally here, at the insanely beautiful Pangong Tso. There were a few white clouds today, in spite of that the lake appeared deep blue, and was even more beautiful than what I had imagined! The snow clad mountains on the backdrop were literally 'icing' on the cake! Even though it was afternoon and the sun was out, the winds were freezing cold.
After relaxing and rejuvenating at the lake to my heart's content, I decided to head back to the main road, towards Merak. As I turned the Xpulse to head back, I noticed another trail down to the lake from the main road. This was clearly the more popular way down to the lake, since everyone seemed to be taking this one. It was a piece of cake as compared to the one I took, and certainly a respite! I was very hungry by now, and so stopped at a restaurant on the way up. Gorged on some incredible momos and a paratha, and I was on my way. The entire rest of the ride to Merak was right along the Pangong Tso, and was immensely beautiful; I was having 'Oh wooooowww' moments at practically every turn, gazing at the different shades of blue and turquoise green! It was easily the most beautiful ride so far, and reminded me of my drive through the Amalfi coast in Italy.
The only downside was that there was zero mobile connectivity. I was hoping for at least intermittent connectivity, but zilch! Beyond a point, offline google maps started having a mind of its own, and was showing some bizarre routes, most of which did not exist. Confirmed with one of the locals that I was on the right track, and finally reached Merak.
Merak was unlike any other village I had seen. As charming as it was, it must have only about 12 - 15 houses. Made it to my guest house, and it was a decent place. Offloaded my luggage, freshened up and I was curious to take a stroll around the village. I was a bit nervous about having no network whatsoever, especially in terms of updating the family back home. Requested the caretaker to use her phone to update the family, but to my dismay even BSNL has not been having network there since yesterday.
Anyway, I headed out for a walk exploring in and around the village. Merak overlooked a part of Pangong Tso, so it was an incredible sight. All the mountains and peaks nearby added to its already beautiful landscape. This is when I noticed dry compost toilets nearby all the houses. Checked on this with my caretaker later on, and realized that most of Ladakhi homes have dry compost toilets. Necessity is the mother of invention, and the scanty rains here meant lack of water and hence the dry compost toilets! Of course, blooming tourism saw western toilets being built, but largely for tourists; locals continue to use the dry toilets. I have had multiple prior experiences with dry compost toilets, and it only made me realize the sheer volume of water being used for the every day western toilets. I decided to use such toilets during this stay and the rest of the journey wherever I could.
Later in the evening, a family from Delhi joined me at the guest house, and it turned out they are originally from Nagpur! We connected instantly over our mother tongue - Marathi. After a relaxed evening, it was time for dinner. Had another walk around the village, this time with the family, and headed for dinner. Was a pleasure to have hot soup to have some relief from the cold evening winds.
Today definitely scratched my off roading itch. I knew there is more of this in store, but can something top the sheer beauty I witnessed today?
Distance - 200 kms
Route - Hunder - Diskit - Khalsar - Agham - Shyok - Pangong - Merak
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