Our Leh Trip - 08 TO 16 August 2024.
12 August 2024.
Today's road journey.
Hunder - Pangong Tso - Via - Diksit - 101 km "T-Mode" - Tsati - Rongdu - Agham - Shyok - Dubruk - Tangse - Pangong Tso.
Earlier, in 1997, when I was still in uniform and visited Leh as a guest of my friend M M ALI who was Commanding AF Station Leh at that time, we had travelled the Dubruk - Tangse - Pangong Tso portion of this route when we had travelled from Leh To Pangong Tso.
Since then, the roads and the scene at Pangango have undergone a sea change. "Sea change" though vast, is a totally inadequate simile to describe the total transformation that has taken place in the roads and the Panngaong Tso scene.
But that is a story for some other time.
The journey.
Retracing the same route, the blacktop road in Shyok River bed, from Hunder did not in any way diminish the beauty, the novelty or our amazement at such a beauty.
In this area Shyok River basin and the valley is very wide. Looking back we could still see Hunder from a long way off. The same was the case with the giant Maitreya Buddha of the Diksit statue. (Check photos and captions.)
Our first stop was at a T-junction where we had not stopped on the way to Hunder and I had taken some photos including those of beautifully built eight chortens on the move from a moving car.
A triangular pyramid brick and cement structure has been constructed to serve as a milestone by the BRO at this junction, when you read the destinations written on this pyramid where the roads lead from this T Junction, you realise the importance of this place.
In the absence of any village, presently this place does not have any name. As indicated by name boards of hotels it is simply called T-Mode (in Hindi 'Mode' is 'Turn') and variously spelt as 'T- Mord' or 'T-Morh', depending upon the ethnicity of the painter and how he pronounced the word 'Mode'. Interestingly there is one place named 101 KM Dhaba.
Before it was named T-Mode, this place must have been known as 101 KM Point because it is 101 KM from Leh and this dhaba, the 1st restaurant to come up here.
I know that, in the wilderness, one of the ways the army refers to a place is by its distance from a prominent place.
I say this because in 1968, when in 101 Squadron Tezpur, during a Corps-level exercise, I was detailed as Forward Area Controller and was supposed to be located alongside Brigade Hq. I was given a driver, a sahayak, and a Jonga and told to report at a location called 39 km.
In those days beyond Bomdila, there were hardly any habitats, villages or towns. Army used to indicate unit locations as " .....so many km from Bomdila". So my Brig Hq was located 39 km from Bomdila. My driver, an army jawan, at 39 km looked for the brigade hq sign and took me the to correct place without any problem.
Two unforgettable events from that exercise
1. The Brigade Commander's very close relative, do not recollect the exact relation was on board AN 12 which crashed near Rohtang Pass. All 102 on board were killed. It is to the credit of Army communications that even in that wilderness, the news of the accident was communicated to the Brigade Commander the same evening. Pall of gloom descended on the Brigade HQ location. As an IAF rep, the Brigade Commander asked me what could have gone wrong. I was a Flying Officer with 2 years of service. What could I say except express condolence? The wreckage was found after 35 years in 2003. Even now the bodies are being found, as was in the news a few days back.
2. While on a close air support mission, Fg Offr/ Flt Lt ( do not remember the rank) Thakur safely baled out from Vampire 52. He was lucky not to suffer any injuries and was rescued by the army unit personnel. He was also treated royally with tea, samosa and any other delicacy the army could supply in that inhospitable terrain by the very people, he was supposed to be attacking.
Sorry for this diversion,
Back to the trip and 101 'T' Junction.
Took plenty of photos and after about 30 minutes proceeded further.
Short of Khalsar turned left to take a shortcut, it was across the riverbed an unpaved track and crossed Shyok River by a narrow bridge fit only for light vehicles and joined the road to Rongdo. Passed through Tsati Village. Took a photo of Ayushman Arogya Mandir, Tsati.
The main reason for taking this and many other photos on the move is to pinpoint my location on the map. That is how I can name so many places while writing my travelogues. That is how I knew that the village we passed through, and that the Ayushman Arogya Mandir is located in the village of Tsati.( Added its location on Google Maps after returning to Nagpur which can now be seen on Google Maps with the photo taken by me.) Not only that, these photos also help me to draw the route followed on Google Maps. After Tsati, as experienced earlier, we travelled on the riverbed of Shyok River on a paved blacktop road by BRO. After a little while we saw that the road had been washed away and we had to travel cross country driving over boulders and stones and making our own road through the boulders/stones of the river bed, A bumpy ride to put it mildly. A video of about one-minute duration was taken of this ride.
From the reactions of Tashi, our driver, who took it in his stride and also the way he so readily took this route and all other vehicles of ours as well as other tourists, bikers etc, following, such cross country bumpy ride after a road wash-away was quite common.
Shortly, we were back on smoother BRO road. The difference this time was that this portion was levelled hardpacked and maintained by BRO but was not blacked topped as we had seen earlier. Slightly further on we saw a highway-type of signboard indicating distances to Agham 06 m, Shyok 51 km, Dubruk 69 km, Pangong Tso 109 km and Shakti 66km(photo). Immediately after the signboard, the road was black-topped and a proper road in every sense. Maybe the unpaved portion we had travelled was awaiting to be blacktopped.
Reached Agham and had our washroom cum tea stoppage. As usual took photos. We had come across quite a few biker groups at Thang and en route. There was one biker group also taking a break at Agham. Took a group photo with them.
After leaving Agham, for about half an hour the drive was smooth, after which we plunged into the boulder-filled rover bed of Shyok. Our driver informed us that BRO is carrying out road widening in this area and also there has been a road washout, a common phenomenon in that area and wild rides through the riverbed are the only way to Pangong Tso if one has to avoid going all the way to Leh and then follow Leh - Pangong Tso Road. This wild ride continued for almost 45 minutes and ended just short of Shyok Village.
It is the daredevil attitude of local drivers and the untiring vigil and 24X7 work by the BRO that movements never come to a stop on these lifelines called 'roads''
Six videos were taken during this 45-minute wild, bucking, bone-jarring never-to-be-forgotten drive. Worth seeing is the one about 3 minutes in duration and the second of about 1 mt 45 seconds.
After Shyok stopped for the washroom and tea break. Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed when we reached. Took the opportunity to take some photos.
Reached Durbuk village/Town and drove through it without stopping. The route from here onwards would be the same as we had followed in 1997 while travelling from Leh to Pangong Tso. From here onwards nothing resembles anything we had seen or experienced in 1997. Durbuk may have had a couple of shacks and some army units but nothing that could be called a village, the same could be said about Tangtse and Pangong Tso. The road in 97, was not much better than our ride through the riverbed this morning. Today these places have houses, markets and a sufficient civil population. They can be justifiably called as villages/towns. The roads are two-lane, as smooth as a baby's bum, with solar-powered street lights. Army units located around have nice well-planned accommodations and organised as well as peace location cantonments. All of this was totally missing in 1997.
Had the first glimpse of Pangong Tso through the V of two mountainsides, when still about 3-4 km from it. It was a very fleeting view as we were moving. Even if I say so, I still got a good shot even though taken on the move from a moving car.
Made a halt as soon as we touche the shore of Pangong Tso. Stone chortens made by the bikers from rocks found by the roadside indicated it was a favoured stop for them as well. All the chortens were by the extreme edge of the road with steep drop to the icy waters of Pangong Tso. Got rebuked by Priti when I went very close to the edge to add my own chorten, had to leave it unfinished.
There was a stiff breeze blowing, brown and barren-looking mountains, blue skies and even bluer waters of the lake all made a wonderful and never-to-be-forgotten memory. After spending some time there and taking plenty of photos left for Pangong Retreat Cap, the resort where we were booked to stay for the night. After settling down in the allotted tent. Frehsnedup and after high tea left for Pangong Tso.
Driving right up to the earmarked parking area and walking a short distance to the water's edge was a revelation. The change as compared to our visit in 1997 was like chalk and cheese.
In 1997, there was no crowd. In fact, except for a handful of Army personnel who were in charge of looking after people, who were again from the defence forces, visiting Pangong Tso on leave, there were no humans to be seen anywhere. The silence, the calm and the serene atmosphere/ambience were absolute bliss. The beauty was indescribable. The main reason, the entire area was under army control. For security reasons, the civil population was not allowed.
In 2024 with hundreds of resorts built, it seems like the township has come up on the shores of Pangong Lake. with the crowds, various available amusements, and vendors selling knickknacks a mela-like atmosphere prevailed. It must be said the crowd on the shore of Pangong Lake, at that moment, justified the saying ' more the merrier'. Everyone was having a wonderful time. Camera shutters were clicking nonstop. All wanted to carry back the memories of their visit to this place.
One thing had not changed from 1997 and that was the colour of Pangong Tso waters. It was just as blue as it was then. Looking at the colour-changing shades of blue, depending on the reflection of the clouds or the reflections in the rays of the setting sun made this trip worthwhile.
If I recollect rightly, towards the end of the movie '3 Idiots', there was a scene of about 60 seconds where Kareena Kapoor wearing her wedding dress finery, drives a yellow Vespa scooter with a grinder attached at pillion seat, towards Amir Kahn on the shore of Pangong Lake.
No one, at that time would have imagined that at some future date, this scene would become a life-changing event in the life of local residents and would become a means of their livelihood.
Bum seats, yellow Vespas with a grinder, half-cut metal drums & and a wedding dress similar to that worn by Kareena Kapoor in the film "three idiots" are all available here on hefty rental for you to take away along with Pangong Tso, "3 idiots" memories as well. Returned to our resort with never-to-be-forgotten memories of the ethereal beauty of the mountains, the blue lake and the gay atmosphere of Pangong Tso.
Do read the captions of the photos. Some are repetitive, some boring but lots do carry interesting tidbits of information culled from Google.
Six videos of our wild rides are included. The temptation to skip them will be strong. Do see them at least in fast-forward mode, you will enjoy the ride. Just to show what an excellent job BRO is doing away from the landslide zones, I have included a video where the road surface is as smooth as a baby's bum.
Link to my 1997 blog
