TGT : Day 5 -- 06/09/07 -- Leh

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Date : 06/09/07
Starting Point : Leh
Destination : zzzzzzzzzzz
Start Time : Afternoon after a nice long sleep.
Distance Covered : None
Itinerary: Leh
Fuel : Lots available but little needed. Leh has a Petrol Pump.
Connectivity : Only Post Paid connections by Airtel & BSNL
Road Conditions : Puts most of the so-called-cities to shame!
Food & Shelter (And hot water!) : Leh has accommodation to suit all kinds of budgets. From 3 stars (5 star by Leh standards) to basic dormitory kind of accommodation. Room rents in hotels with good bedding and hot water is around Rs.300/day on twin sharing basis. Ask if hot water is running all day or there are specific timings! Most hotels refuse running hot water in case there are not sufficient clients in rooms. Will provide you with hot water in a bucket but that is mostly never enough to wash away the grime & dirt & after enduring the cold for 3 good days!
Daily Expenses : A hearty breakfast -- Rs.150 for 2 + A fulfilling dinner - Rs.150/person approx + Stay at a guest house for 2 bed room - Rs.200/Night + Internet - Rs.53 (Rs.1.50/min!!!) + Mechanic - Rs.200 + Bike Washing - Rs.25 + Blank CD's - Rs.20 for 2
Shopping : T-Shirts (Embroidery) - Rs.400 + T-Shirts (Printed) - Rs.150 + Rs.180 + Buddha Lockets - Rs.150 for 2 + Pashmina Shawls - Rs.1800 (3 Stoles)
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A day spent at Leh. Sleep was such a welcome thing and so much more was the hot water bath. Shaved, cut nails and did things that gave me a little civilized look after 4days. I don't remember when we got up and stuff cause it didn't matter. Got up a good half an hour after i was awake! The key thing to accomplish was get the bike fixed. After the fiasco on the very second day and riding around for 2 days with a loose chain, it was on the top of the to-do list. But the to-do list itself could wait till we ate something other than eggs & maggi!!
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The breakfast was at German Bakery in the main Leh Market. Now the point to be noted is it is Sardarji's German Bakery tucked inside the road leading from the main square to the Leh taxi stand. It is not the one right in the square bang in front of "Pizza De Hut" restaurant. Though it too claims to be a German Bakery, the ambiance is hardly something that will remind you of Germany or for that matter, even a Bakery! Nyways...so the point is, go to the "Pumpernickel German Bakery and Restaurant"!! It has the ambiance I've come to expect of German Bakeries and the food tasted yummy! Ab i don't remember what we had but you can see for yourself in the pictures! And you can of course see the place itself. But yeh, be prepared to be treated as a 2nd grade citizen in your own country (i.e. if you are an Indian!)....takes forever to service your order. But the food is good (for break fast). So one big job done! Gobble what the world terms as breakfast... ;-)
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Next was to get the Camera Card's emptied on to a CD cause 1gb is woefully little to capture what the nature has in store for you in Ladakh. There is a Fotofast in the Leh Market that will do it for you for Rs.80 per CD which isn't bad but you go spend another Rs.10 for the CD case cause they won't give you one! And spent a few minutes on the net to check emails etc. I had initially thought of updating the blog as and when i got a chance in Leh but when net costs you Rs.1.50/min in Leh and is virtually free everywhere else i go, i decided that the world could wait on knowing how much fun i had on the trip! ;-)
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The afternoon was generally spent looking around the curios and trinkets around the Leh markets. And of course the T-shirts that you can flaunt around in plains back home proudly proclaiming your victory in taming the mighty Khardungla & the terrains around Leh! Leh is plains by the side of the Indus and is pretty hot during the day time. Fluids are a must since it can get pretty hot like it was on this day. Must be mid 30's. So you sip the "Tsestalulu Juice" and refresh yourself. For those challenged in Ladakhi, it is simply called the "Leh Berry" juice, a very tangy, sweet juice extracted out of tiny orange berries found in abundance all around Leh. Stick around for day 7,8 and beyond on the blog and you can see them. ;-)
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Finally, at around 3pm, I made it to Mohan Sharma's garage on the Srinagar road to get my bike fixed. The rest of the gang was already there working on their bikes by themselves. I didn't want to so i hung around. My problems were much beyond the regular oil change since the bike wasn't just pulling. Now let me tell you that Mohan Sharma is the most well known Mechanic for Bullets in Leh and also services other bikes. So saying that he is BUSY will be an understatement. A big one. So go to him at 7am cause that's when he opens!! Finally after getting the bike fixed at around 6pm, i went off to get it washed. A rather big washing center on the way to Thiksey. Rs.100 for a bike wash! That is if you don't do it yourself. If you do, only Rs.25! Damn expensive shampoo for my bike but then i guess it deserved it.
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Finally it was some roaming around in the market. When you are with a group of 13, you are never alone though you may be out by yourself. Kept bumping into the guys in stores, restaurants, net cafes and where not. Even into Karthik & Ananth, whom we had just met. It was dinner time at "Pizza De Hut" before we even knew it. The night was spent trying to click the Leh Palace using different cameras me and Dharam had between us. 4 of them!! Different ones, different modes, and what not. You can see the results for yourself. The Leh Palace in the night is one of the most sold post cards in Leh. Finally at around 11pm, curtains on a day that was hardly used to rest for the upcoming rides. Up next day was Khardung La, a place where every biker wants his picture clicked!! At 18588 ft above mean sea level, it surely isn't a joke.....
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