We started our trip by Flying from Delhi to Leh Ladakh via Go Air airlines. Below are the details from our day 1 of travel.
Travelling to Leh Ladakh was in our bucket list since long but for some reason or the other, it was getting postponed. This year, we planned well in advance and booked our tickets to this beautiful land and I must admit that this was on of our best trips so far.
We started to plan for the trip by ordering a Lonely Plane travel guide on Jammu Kashmir and booking air tickets. Once to and fro tickets to Leh were done, we planned the itinerary in and around Leh and booked the hotels accordingly. Lot of people just land in Leh and not book hotels in advance. Our driver also insisted that we book the hotels once we reach. But if you are keen on living in certain kind of hotels and have some thoughts around the choice, I highly recommend booking them in advance. The internet connection is dicey in most of Ladakh region and the hotels are so far from each other, that you will end up staying in the ones your drives land you to.
Landing in Leh is breaktakingly beautiful with a view of miles and miles of snow capped mountains. The scene looks surreal and it gives you a glimpse of the nature’s power and might. The airport in Leh is a small building just a few square feet in area, surrounded by mountains on one side and the Leh City on the other.
We had read a lot about the low levels of Oxygen in Leh and how it could affect you. But once we landed, we were just fine. But do not get mislead by your fineness after you land. It takes a good few hours for the effect to show up and before you will know, it will start to get on to you.
So as suggested by everyone, please make sure to rest enough on your day one and take it very easy. Eat light and do not sleep. Just lie down and read a book or watch TV or just take in all the beauty from the window of your room.
We had booked our taxi in advance and the driver was waiting outside the airport to pick us. He dropped us to the hotel which was not too far from the airport and quite near to the city centre.
On day one and two, we stayed in Grand Dragon Hotel. Our room had a beautiful view of snow clad mountains. Lunch was light and we ordered only Dal and Rice. After playing a few rounds of UNO and watching a bit of TV, and sipping on a few cups of warm kahwa tea, it was evening and we decided to go for a short stroll in the market area. We decided to not walk and asked our taxi driver to drop us at the market. Weather has a good chill and a few cups of coffee were more than welcome. We also had a steaming bowl of Thupka in one of the small restaurants in the main market.
Main market of Leh is a narrow lane lined by shops on both the sides. Local farmers ladies make makeshift shops on the pavement and sell the produce from their farms. We were lucky to taste Yak Butter in one of these shops.
Dinner was light again at the hotel and we were off to sleep and get ready for the next day.
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