2nd of June, 2023
Hitchhiking in India: Ladakh (way to Pangong Tso)
At some point in the night, my stomach starts to hurt. And what a killing pain! It goes on throughout the night, and I think I will die! I feel the urge to go to the toilet, of course, and soon I discover that I’ve got loose motions. I think it was the paneer. It is the first time I get this sick in India. And I’ve been here for about 4 months in total, almost everywhere. If it wasn’t for this tiny time, I think it would’ve been some kind of record: a western foreigner in India for almost 6 months and not getting sick. Well… what to do?
I feel terrible. Around six o’clock the parents wake up and I let them know what happened. They call their son. I explain to him what happened and he tells me that there is a small clinic in the village. What? I think this village has only three houses and they have a small clinic? Somebody remind me later that, because Ladakh is over populated with the army, they have these small clinics everywhere. I confess I go there without much hope. But I was wrong. The lady with whom I talk is great and she gives me everything I need: anti-bacterial pills, pain killers and ORS packages. I cannot believe it! That’s simply amazing!
After a lot of consideration, I have decided that it is not smart to carry on trying to reach Pangong Tso. I mean, it is a very tricky journey, with so many obstacles like high altitudes, extreme weather, bad road conditions. It would be already difficult if I was well, so after getting so sick, embarking so soon into such adventure would be madness. Right?
When I woke up in the morning, before going to the clinic, the mother insisted I should have something to eat. Apart of drinking lots of water, I accept having some noodles, the simple Maggi which you can prepare easily. I couldn’t even finish the small package portion, but at least I ate something.
I decide to leave around noon, walking back to the village, from where I can catch a lift back to Karu, and from there carry on to Manali and back to Rajasthan. The main road to Pangong Tso would be open from 6 a.m. until 10 o’clock. So, by now, only locals going to nearby villages are allowed to pass the barricade.
While going down the village, I can see the main road up the hill. My heart sinks with every step I take in the opposite direction of Pangong Tso. I can’t stop thinking that it is such a shame coming all the way here, so close (but not) and then turning around. I keep telling myself that I am just walking back to the village, walking back to the village. But I keep staring at the road to the lake. You are doing the right thing, Lei, just keep walking back to the… Oh, Look! That looks like a trail (but not) uphill to the main road, and it goes all the way (barely). Fuck it, let’s go! It was as I was not looking at the road, but just looking for the slightest opportunity of going uphill, and catch up with it again.
The way up is not just up, it is full of small rocks which insist on keep trying to bring you all the way down. Normally, under a completely healthy and strong body, I would already suffer, coming all this way up with my over 20 kilograms burden. You can imagine how hard it is to do this under the current circumstances. I don’t know where did I get the strength to do it. Well, perhaps I do…
And I finally reach the main road! Yay! From up here the views are amazing and now I can see some more houses in this village called Sakti. I don’t need to walk any longer, this is a good enough place for hitchhiking. I believe that one or two cars pass by withing 10 minutes but none of them stop. Then, Antchuk comes.
Antchuk is a senior man, going back to his village. He is extremely surprised when he sees me, I can see in his face through the car windows. He has a pick-up and he is bringing back some provisions to his village.
When I get in, I don’t really understand how far he is going, I just got it that he is going towards Pangong Tso and that’s enough for me.
Now, let’s talk about the views. Incredible! Minute after minute, an amazing view will come out of the corner. The most glorious mountains and valleys, in all their magnitude, showing themselves boldly to our bare eyes. It is simply sublime! Sometimes you can see tiny roads (or tracks) far away in the distance, cutting the mountains, and leading Loki knows where.
The road is slightly dangerous. Well, many people would consider super dangerous. We are constantly on the edge of a cliff, facing a huge fall, without anything between us and hundreds of metres from the valleys down there. Soon enough after Sakti, the road gets bad, and it doesn’t get any better soon. I am lucky that Anthuck is driving a 4×4, otherwise I don’t know how it would be in a regular car. I swear that, sometimes, there isn’t any road at all!
What I also like about Ladakh is how it constantly changes its scenario. It has desert looks, Northern hemisphere mountains looks, and all of sudden, everything is covered in snow. It is kind of in the same way when I was coming from Jammu and Kashmir to Leh. I think my favourite scenery is when the fatty mountains look like a vanilla spongy cake, with icing sugar on top; or as they call in English, bundt cake. In Brazil, we just call it English cake, and I used to love it! Perhaps, that’s why I like these mountains so much, it is a nostalgic feeling related to my childhood food.
This is Ladakh ♥
At some point, while talking with Antchuk, I understand that his village is about 70 km from Sakti, nearby a place called Durbuk, and that’s where he will drop me off. Can you imagine how lucky I am with that? Seventy kilometres! With so many small villages between Sakti and Pangong Tso, I would get in a car going more than half a way to it. Yeah, because now the lake is only about 40 km from here.
On our way, we pass a few check-points. I think about five or something. Some of them were desert; some had officials but they were not checking any cars; and if I am not mistaken, one or two were making the cars slow down but they didn’t stop us. It could be the timing. Knowing that the roads are blocked after 10 a.m., the officers are not worried about tourists coming at this time. Was that the reason why I had to get sick and only be able to come this late, so I would scape of the check-points and manage to visit Pangong Tso?
About that, when Antchuk drops me off on a busy intersection near his village (well, busy to Ladakh standards, of course), it is almost dark. I can see in a distance that there is a storm coming. And most likely a snow storm. Antchuk was telling me on our way here about the crazy snow storms which were happening in the past few days, and that’s why there were so many roads block everywhere. The roads are so small, narrow and bad, that it is nearly impossible for two cars pass together, I mean, it is not possible at all but the spots where one car can let the other pass are very few, and with the bad weather things just get even more complicated.
After waiting for what seems like one hour, I start look around, trying to decide where will I ask for shelter tonight. When I can see the imminence of the storm so close that I can almost touched, I decide to stop. But not before one last car, which I see coming in the distance. How ironic life is…
A family of mother, father and their incredible five years old daughter, is going all the way to Pangong Tso. And they take me. The mother is from Maharashtra and the father from Kerala. Of course he is! He actually reminds me a lot of my dear friend Jibby. They are both so friendly, kind and lovely, that it doesn’t come as a surprise that their daughter (just like Nova, Jibby’s and Anoo’s daughter) is so incredible. I would even tell Nova later, that I’ve met a young girl, incredibly smart and cute, just like her, and that I think they would be good friends if they ever met.
My initial plan was getting to a village, a bit after the entrance of the lake, and ask for shelter with the locals there. When we arrive to Pangong Tso, it is nearly night time, and the family is staying in one of the lodges by the beginning of the lake. There are plenty of accommodation here and I am really surprised with that. The family is so nice that they ask the owner of the lodges if there isn’t a place around here where I can put my tent. They have some new lodges under construction, so at first, I think that would be a good option for my camping. But knowing the weather (and even right now it is already freezing cold, worsened by the snowfall which has already started), the kind man who is in charge of the place, tells me I can stay in one of the staff rooms. They might be outnumbered, or something, because I have this small cabin just for myself.
After the family gets settled, they ask me if I would like to come for dinner with them in the other side of the lake. I appreciate their offer but I still don’t feel like eating anything. I cannot believe I’ve been through the day with nothing but half Maggie and water, but what to do? So, they leave and I go to sleep.
10 Years Around the World 