We just ducked into an internet cafe to check the weather so we can get our tickets back to Delhi before being snowed in for the winter, but they serve such nice milk tea here that we decided it'd be worth a blog update to stay and finish.
We just took an amazing trip to a lake (Pangong Tso) on the boarder with Tibet, during which we crossed over the third highest motorable pass in the world (~17,500 feet!!). We got out and were breathless before we had walked ten feet. And to think we'll be hiking the Annapurna (and Mon and James the Gokyo) trek at 18,000, with packs, and for long streches. Yikes! It's a more gradual ascent, so we should be fine.
The road itself was worth the journey alone. Along steep mountain walls, with little farming villages thousands of feet below, in a rear-wheel drive SUV with no snow tires or chains in the snow, passing military trucks on a narrow little road. Our driver was amazing, and handled it all with apparent ease. The terrain was beautiful on the other side of the pass: gentle valleys with the rugged peaks of the Himalayas peaking out behind. The lake itself was a short but memorable stop (the drive was 8 hours round trip, and we got a late start and wanted to beat the sun back). A delicious Dal and Omlette lunch made by a beautiful old Tibetan woman, and the views toward Tibet over the strikingly blue brackish lake were highlights of the trip so far.
That'll have to do for now. Tea's finished, and we're off to enjoy the beautiful Ladakhi fall day. The poplars are turning yellow and losing their leaves, and the days have grown noticeably colder since we got here. We thought we would miss Fall, but we're being treated to a delightful one here.
Dave and Mon
