Sleeping High: Overnight at Pangong Lake

Puri Bajhi for breakfast

24^th April

The morning dawns clear in Leh, with lovely views of the Stok range.  I had ordered wake up tea for 5:45am but it came at 6am!!  The same time as when I had stayed here before.  A bucket of hot water followed quickly and I enjoyed my second hot water ablutions in a row!  Luxury knows no bounds!

The previous evening I had been too tired to think about breakfast, so when Sanjay at the hotel suggested Indian breakfast of puri bajhi, I agreed – and very good it was!

Another gratuitous view of Stok Gangri from my balcony

We were to start the day early - leave before 8am, but Rigu calls to say the driver has advised he will be late.

In due course we leave the hotel, retrace our pathway of the first day and turn off to head up towards Changla pass.  We drive pat the rather attractive Chamday monastery perched on a small hill nestled in a valley.  This monastery is yet another branch of the Hemis monastery, owned by the Drukpa sect of Buddhism.

We pass more of the delightful "BRO" ( Border Roads Organisation) signs, one of these declaring "Drive like hell and you will be there"

Chamday Monastery

We pass many road workers in all our travels, and one was on hands and knees, in the snow, collecting small stones to fill the potholes.  Pay here for those who come from India and Nepal to work is a little better than they might receive at home.  Though on 100-300rupees a day for unskilled labour, they are not going to get rich quick by any standards. 

A tractor/snowplough coming towards us does not want to move over to let us pass, and discussions reveal that they would like to sell us diesel.  Siphoned from the tank.  Government provided.  We have a full tank and Riga says, with a shrug "This is India!"

We enter avalanche warning areas, including one sign announcing "Because of global warning, please beware, avalanche can come any time".

A different perspective on
riding the school bus

After slipping and failing to navigate a small incline in the snowy road, we finally stop to put on chains.  Or to be more accurate, in the singular.  As we progressed and it became evident that one chain was not sufficient I did inquire as to why not another chain, I was told the other chain is broken... broken yesterday and the replacement chains are the wrong size.  Hmmm.

Fortunately, a road works truck spreading gravel materialised behind us, passes us and continues its function and we proceed to the top.

Riga is falling down on his job, not once as we approach the pass does he ask me about headaches.

Just over the pass, we encounter a group of army personnel walking up.  Apparently the road is blocked. By what, as yet uncertain.  

Climbing up out of the valley

We park and my crew head down to investigate.  In due course a truck appears, heading towards us.  I hope that this is the solution to the road block but the return of my crew identifies that another truck, bus and vehicle are also stuck on the upwards route.  2 taxis parked behind us turn, with the intent of returning to Leh.

A few minutes later we have the situation of the gravel  truck coming towards Pangong, the aforementioned truck face to face with it in the road and 2 taxis behind it.  Approximately 20 men discuss this situation (the solution to which is perfectly logical to me, given that 50 metres away from where we are, there is passing space). 

A reminder that no place is free of the impact of global warning

 In due course the Leh bound truck is moved to the side, with the assistance of some pushing, one gentleman in the taxi declined the invitation to help in this enterprise (I remark on the sexist nature of the invitation, no one invited me to help) the gravel truck moves to the side and chains are fitted to the Leh bound truck.  The gravel truck is apparently going nowhere - I had assumed that the plan was for this to go down to where vehicles were stuck and assist in making the road passable.  Once again, assume nothing!

It is almost 1pm, we have been parked here for around an hour.  I have broken out the cashew cookies. 

A scenic place to fit chains

Ahhh ... progress, the blue truck with the gravel has moved.  But only out of the immediate path of the Leh bound truck, which proceeds successfully uphill.  More group discussion takes place.  How many army personnel does it take to.....(fill in the space)

Excitement, another approaches, the gravel truck move aside again so as not to impede its momentum on the snow.

More excitement: a convoy approaches, a truck, 2 cars, a bus, and a small number of smaller vehicles.  

traffic jams in the snow

And we're off!  That was "only" a one hour wait.  Only 5 minutes on and a car ahead pulls over.  Oncoming traffic.  The space for passing is not wide.  The workers from the blue gravel truck (behind us) proceed to shovel snow to widen the road.  More discussions.

The passenger of the first vehicle collects his own (just in case) quantity of gravel from the blue truck, there is much application of manpower to the rear, and he gets past.  And another, and another.  

more traffic jams in the snow

A fuel tanker skids its wheels and goes nowhere.  Variously manpower is applied to the rear, small quantities of gravel are applied, tanker slips sideways.  Repeat. Much loud discussion. In an attempt to prove more room all parked vehicles are moved forward... no more than 50 cm in our case.  In the meantime the drivers of Leh bound queued vehicles are spreading small amounts of gravel on the slope.  And the tanker finally moves.  100m.  But that is potentially another problem.  

2 more vehicles pass, but stop before clearing our queue.  Another enters the space beside us. 

More waiting.  More discussion.  The blue gravel truck backs up the hill towards the stuck tanker.

developing a bit of a tilt

Half an hour, the tanker is finally moving and the vehicles along side start their engines and start moving.  In the meantime, the oncoming queue has got longer.  There is some digging of snow, which seems a bit random, but I do not have the full picture..  The parking is so tight I cannot mover from the passenger side of the car.

Now there is an oncoming vehicle stuck 50 metres ahead.  Mass relocation of manpower.  And it moves. More vehicles follow.  There is running back to cars and some signalling to vehicles below to wait.  

Shayok valley

1:45 and Bublu has started the engine.  5 minutes later another impasse.  Oncoming traffic, no passing space.  3 vehicles ahead get through but in the meantime, more oncoming traffic and the too-ing and fro-ing to shuffle past is difficult.  More discussions.  More vehicle movements reminiscent of a 2 step shuffle and we are off.  2pm.  5 minutes on and a vehicle is having trouble navigating the snow and ice.   

Application of gravel from the hillside and it’s moving, a bit.  Next vehicle is having similar   trouble, and there is a truck behind.  The small vehicle is moved to one side, the truck attempts a pass but in the deeper snow it develops a tilt, comes to a bit of a halt and retreats.  Repeat process. The man fitting chains to small car on side moves quickly out of the way.  Still no success on the part of the truck.

Wild Horses - Kiang(?)

The last small vehicle to pass us had stuck before it cleared our parked queue.  Manpower and gravel to the rescue.  

Eventually the car fitting chains moves, the truck behind follows and the truck behind that is instructed by an army officer to pull to the side, and we are off.  2:25pm and we have cleared the traffic jams and the snow.

As we descend, my impression of the immediate barren landscape here is that of debris from mining operations, bulldozed untidily into piles.  We pass more evidence of the floods of 2010 - from the unseasonal cloudbursts in this usually dry countryside. 

Rock debris from floods

Higher, the mountains are a mixture of the variously coloured rocks and scree slopes, capped, of course, by snow.  

We are in the Shayok valley and headed for a wildlife protected zone, and pass some wild horses, possibly Kiang, also found in Tibet. 

sandy roads through the valley

We are also treated to the wonderful sight of an eagle, perhaps a golden eagle, soaring high above us, and the occasional partridge crossing the road. These are also known locally as mountain chicken.  Why did the chicken cross the road...?

We reach our destination, the Pangong Resort, I am shown to my room and tea and crackers are brought, although my priority is access to my bathroom after a long section of rather open countryside.  A very quick cuppa and I don extra thermal layers and head to the lake to take A few photos before sunset, which is imminent.

I have a real sense of awe as I look towards the head of the lake, some 100 km away, and the mountains there.  Tibet.  I dip my finger in the lake, and although it is cold, I again have that sense of awe; this water may also have lapped the shores of Tibet.  (Let's not go too deeply into the dynamics of water movement in lakes!). I am also awed by the fact that I am at 4,400m and am surrounded by high mountains wherever I look.

first view of Pangong Lake

It is barely 5 minutes before Riga comes looking for me (I had told the resort staff where I was going).  I am not sure that walking alone at this altitude is an approved activity, he says we will walk by the lake in the morning, I respond that I also want to see it in the evening light.

Given that the oxygen has been brought for me "just in case", I suggest that the most appropriate place for it overnight is in my room rather than in the car.  It is brought, and Riga proceeds to instruct me in how to use it, but I suggest that loosening the regulator attachment is not part of this process - maybe this is a different style to others he has used with tourists.  I have seen, in passing cars, people using the masks that cover nose and mouth, but this is just the device I have seen used in hospitals, with the 2 short tubes that are inserted into the nostrils.

Pangong Lake

Dressing for dinner consists of ensuring one is wearing sufficient clothing to stay warm in the unheated dining room.

Dinner is ok given the relative remoteness of the location and the fact that road access from both Himachael Pradesh and Kashmir is closed due to snow. 

Riga comes to see if my dinner is ok, I ask him to share... no way will I eat it all and I have already sent back to the kitchen the plate of raw vegetables and the bowl of rice pudding.  Perhaps I need tattooed on my forehead "no rice pudding". It seems to be ubiquitous.  My meal is undoubtedly better than that which will be served to guides and drivers. 

More Pangong Lake

We have discussions about a home stay in a village for one night rather than 2 nights in a hotel in Alchi.  I wimp at the prospect of having to manage a traditional toilet in the middle of the night. I suggest that maybe a guest house in said village (provided it has attached bathroom to my room) would be ok.  I have 2 1/2 months of fairly basic accommodation coming up and will enjoy my last few days of relative comfort. 

My request for wake up hot water (to make coffee) is fobbed off by provision of a thermos that evening.  It will be stone cold by morning.  I recognise the style of thermos.  Apparently early morning is too cold for the staff to get out of bed!

local wildlife

Staff fill my hot water bottle, I don my thermal long johns and skivvies and dive into bed under the 2 quilts and fleece blanket. Blissful softness as the mattress yields.  This is the first place with a relatively soft mattress. 

Riga will come at 6 so we can have an early morning walk along the lake edge to watch the sunrise.