3rd of June, 2023.
Hitchhiking in India: back from Pangong Tso to Karu.
A car with three friends stops. Kuldeep, Ranvier and Ronit are going to Leh, so they can drop me off at Karu. Yay!
Sitting on the back with me is Ronit, the youngest of them three, who is living in Germany and came to India for holidays. The driver, Kuldeep, works in the fashion industry. Which I think it is very appropriate because the first thing I thought about him was what a good style he has. And the third friend is Ranvir.
We stop in Durbuk, the same place where that nice man, Antchuk, dropped me off yesterday, so the guys can have some lunch. They also offer me something to eat, but I simply cannot eat anything. I only have a tea. When we try to leave, the road is blocked. Again! Fourth road block of my trip here up North! They say it is because of the weather and some strong snowfall ahead. As I mentioned before, parts of the road to Pangong Tso are inexistent. Seriously! You can’t really see a road, you just keep driving through nowhere, trying to follow a straight line towards… something, the other side, whatever.
We start playing Ludo in one of the guys’ smartphones. I had never played before but it’s quite easy. And we have lots of fun. Time passes fast and we only notice that the road is open when everybody starts to rush around. But before they let us leave, we must add chains to our tires. Yep! Apparently, the weather ahead of us is quite ugly, and we need to be ready.
The weather starts to get crazy when we are approaching. Chang La Pass, a mountain pass at the elevation of almost 5.400 metres. It gets super cold and the snowfall, even though thin, is constant and strong. We stop for some photos. The ground is covered on ice and crazily slippery. But there is also mud. Great combination! There are quite a lot of people around, this being such a mark for Ladakh. After some minutes, we finally leave.
Knowing that in Karu there aren’t really good options for sheltering me tonight, I tell the guys to drive me a bit closer on the way to Leh, where I know there are villages. At some point, I ask them to stop and that’s when I say goodbye to these very nice men.
I walk a bit around until I finally decide to ask for help in a small shop. A young lady is taking care of it, and she can speak English. Yay! Ann is very sweet and promptly she offers to help me. This is her father shop, but she is the one who takes care of it. She tells me there is a small building on the back, with a room and a kitchen. I can stay there tonight, as she also will.
All of sudden, I fall sick. My head starts to kill me and I am feverish. Out of the blue! Ann tells me I can go to the room and rest; she will remain with the shop open for a bit longer. The place is actually adorable! It is super clean and organized, with two cotton mattresses on the floor, many pillows and thick blankets.
I lie down and cover myself with thick and strong blankets. I thought that after some rest I would feel better. But I don’t. The fever doesn’t pass and, if anything, I feel worse! When Ann comes back after closing the shop, she suggests to take me to the nearby hospital. Not knowing what I have, I agree.
Two friends of Ann join us. They are so cute and nice! At the hospital, we struggle to find some to help us. It is dark already but not that late. Even so, it seems the people working in the hospital had called a night already. But the girls and Ann are insistent, and finally we manage to find someone. After a quick examination and questionnaire, the diagnosis is: altitude sickness. What? No way! How come I didn’t get sick on my way to Pangong Tso but only on the way back? They prescribe me some Paracetamol, which I still have from Sakti, and tell me I can go.
When we are back, I get to know that one of the ladies who came with us, works in a small food place, just beside Ann’s shop. We all have dinner there. I don’t feel like eating at all but Ann insists that is better if I have something on my stomach before taking any pills. She is right. I just force some rice and sabji down my throat, and that’s it. A short period after taking the Paracetamol, and also perhaps because of the food, I already start feeling better and manage to sleep.
Next morning, before leaving, Ann makes us chapatis and chai. She is so sweet! We finally manage to talk properly now that I am feeling alright. Not that I can eat though, the plain chapati and chai is actually perfect for that.
10 Years Around the World 