At its core, our life is about exploring, contemplating and debating the essential ideas that make us who we are. We study music, art, cinema and literature to do that. We also study subjects like science and mathematics to understand its logical aspect. While it's crucial to explore and study these ideas of our community, people and places in our vicinity, I believe it’s equally important to wander around and get the same from far-off people, places and things. This is where travel comes in.
All of us have so many travel stories that somehow affect us. It gets the best out of us. Travelling makes us feel alive, help us grow as a human, make us a better in person and broaden our horizon. I believe travel is more than a hobby, luxury or form of leisure; it’s a foundational part of being a human and experiencing a human life.
Hello people. I am Kanishk, who is an ardent traveller and loves hopping places to gain unprecedented experiences and expand my knowledge related to different cultures. I am here with one of my memorable and inspiring summer trip to Ladakh in 2013.
The trip is memorable as a lot of planning went before it’s commencement. I along with my father got done with all the documentation and permits required to pass the military checkpoints and all of it took almost 6 months (oh yes! A lot of time. But it was worth it).
I would say the best part for me was to experience the beauty around while driving. I think anyone, who knows how to drive, will understand my feelings. The passage from Manali to Leh via Rohtang pass made me address some awe-inspiring beauty of nature. I and my father drove in shifts and it took us almost 3 days to reach Leh from Delhi. Surprisingly, we weren’t tired, although we drove for 3 consecutive days with a brief respite. Those days passed like minutes observing the sublime landscapes all around. Or maybe it was our excitement that kept us all high on energy.
We explored many places like Pangong Lake, which has the purest blue water I ever came across, Leh & Nubra Valley, which has a breath-taking beauty, Dras, the second coldest inhabited place in the world and Tiger Hill, the Iconic hill, where 1999 Kargil war took place.
All the places had an alluring and unique element, which gave me some beautiful and pleasant memories that will stay with me forever. Even though each of these places were far from each other, around 100 km, and every day we had to come back to Leh as the hospitality services weren’t proper in other areas but, the zeal to travel and explore is what kept us going.
The most memorable part of the journey was my visit to Nubra Valley, which is around 140 km from Leh. While we were on our way to the valley, there was a sudden snowfall which blocked the road and we got stuck. We were expecting it to get clear in an hour but we stayed there for 12 long hours and still there was no sign of clearing up. There was no way out as we were there in the middle of heavy traffic; the worst part was – with no food and water.
As a person, I believe that there is a power or energy, which exists to help you get out of a problem. When you feel that nothing would work, suddenly a ray of hope shines. And that day I experienced the existence of this power. When we lost hope of getting access to any food and water, somehow we met a family, who were also from Delhi, and they helped us find a tent nearby where we spent our entire night. The night was cold and uneasy but still had a solace. The next day we were back to Leh.
The next visit was to Pangong. Experiencing the serene beauty of the place was one of a kind experience. The memorable part of the visit was to meet a few Germans (who were football fans like me), who were Bayern supporters. Although I am an Arsenal fan still we had a long and crazy conversation(In spite of the fact that they beat us a lot). Meeting such dedicated supporters of the beautiful game was nice. During the conversation, I got to know how all of them are travel freaks, visiting and exploring places for the past 22 years but they never saw something so beautiful as Kashmir and Leh. It’s heaven on Earth.
It wouldn’t be wrong if I say that these obstacles, last min changes, new people we meet, and sometimes the bad food or hospitality services that we face and come across, no matter wherever we go, are the best parts of any journey. That makes it memorable and invaluable to us. Meeting unknown people and still feeling that connection and that too in such a small period makes it special. For me, this journey was one of a kind. This journey gave me a push and an urge to travel, explore, learn, and inspire more. And now sharing it with you all makes it even more special to me. I hope you people enjoy and get an inspiration to keep travelling no matter what comes in your way!
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