Day 2.

Some things are best left to their course, travel is one of those things. At least I try and do that. You can make a million fool proof plans and it will still bring you down to your knees. I usually travel with little or no expectations, and most times these uncertainties turn out to be some of the beautiful memories I’ve ever created.

I prefer travelling alone because it gives you the space and freedom to pause and explore things at your own pace. After all, travel is not just about checking off a list, it’s about absorbing and reflecting. I’ve travelled with close friends before and it had been easy and spontaneous in all its glory. But something about the extreme conditions of these mountains, and the toll it takes you on physically and mentally, brings out a very cranky version of you.

Me and my friend have travelled together before and had a brilliant time, but at the end of day 1, we were both hit with the realization that we wanted very different things out of this trip. Since I had no pre made plans, at that point in time, my priority was to just survive this brutal cold and get back in shape to even appreciate these mighty mountains. My other friend, on the other hand wanted to explore everything in and around and without wasting anytime. A fair expectation, considering that’s what people do at Leh. His fitness levels were also much higher than mine, and he seemed to be enjoying the cold, than become a victim of it, like he thought I was.

Well if day 1 was sick, day 2 was twice as sick. I woke up at around 7 a.m. not able to breathe, move or speak at all. I went up to the homestay common room, and asked them if they had any breakfast, and I was denied because we hadn’t informed them the night before. 🙁 This made me sad and I had a half cup of tea that she gave me.

After my cup of sympathy tea, I got back to my room, put my walking boots on and started walking down that stony mountain road in search of food, with a headache, and a fever, trying to look strong and brave.

I kept walking, until I found an old man who pointed me to a place called Crossroads where I could eat. I walked up their rickety stairs and chose to sit inside, to avoid the wind. The place was tailored for tourists, but at least they didn’t deny me breakfast. I had a full European breakfast, yes I know how lame that sounds, but give a sick, hungry girl any food option and she will gladly take it. I also had two large cups of masala chai, and spent a good two hours there, just lazing around like the anaconda in me.

The owner was a friendly man, who patiently listened to the discomfort I was facing at my homestay and recommended another one in the middle of the city. So yes, I won’t be surrounded by trees, but at least I will have access to food and tea whenever my sick soul needs it. I thanked him, and promised to check that place out in the evening.

I went back to our room, found my friend awake and ready to go on the next adventure. He wanted to “do” something, anything! I was feeling a little better from all the food and the medicines I had. We decided to hire a bike for half a day and go around.

We started riding and found our way to Shanthi Stupa to catch the sunset. There is an another way that involves climbing 400 steps. At this point, it became very evident that option wasn’t for me. So we rode, through the wonderful roads and looked at the mountains in awe. We asked for directions to Shanthi Stupa, and began riding up that hill. The clouds above us were getting darker, and we expected it to rain in a while.

Shanthi Stupa is perched on a hill top and if you arrive here by sunset, you can see the most astonishing views of the sky changing its colours.

It was impossibly cold and the breeze was strong because of the high altitude. Nevertheless, the monastery interiors were peaceful and devoid of people. All I wanted was to stand at the corner, and watch the sun go down, but the chill dared me and made my teeth chatter. I clicked some pictures from my humble phone camera that did no justice to that actual view. The skies were an array of red, orange , yellow and blue and the sun was retiring for the night, somewhere in between those fierce clouds.

When we could no longer bear the cold, we decided to return back, and started walking towards our bike, and that’s when it happened. Out of nowhere unexpectedly, with no warning came a snow storm drenching us and our unprepared bodies with little droplets of snow at first and then a full blown snow fall. We walked as fast as we could, because we needed to get down that hill before it got dark and that meant my poor friend had to ride down this hill with poor visibility while getting drenched by snow. Looking back at that moment , I now feel I was so freaked at seeing snow fall on my sick body, that I failed to appreciate the moment nature decided to kiss my Face with droplets of snow. But how am I to appreciate anything, when I know this cold was going to slowly kill me as it spread from one body part to another. This isn’t me being dramatic, but when you try riding in a snow fall with no snow gear, then we will talk. Oh, and top of all this misadventures, I lost one of my hand gloves. Yes, just the one! I spent the rest of that snow ride afraid I’m gonna lose my hand to frostbite.

Now this is a sunset I’ll never forget. Not just for its mind blowing views, but also the way we rode for our lives. We rode and rode until we got down, and stopped at a cafe where a few hot beverages brought me back to life. We decided to check out the guest house recommended by my friend earlier. It was a 5 mins walk from Fort road, a busy market road. But it was worn out, and did not seem very clean or comfortable. We checked out another place called Yaktail, a renowned hotel in Leh, just to get another opinion. Not being able to make a decision at that point, we went to the much hyped cafe “Gesmo” for a meal. Another place that served pizzas and sausages and things apart from ladkaki cuisine. Ok, good. I gave up and ordered a plate of hummus with pita bread, which was less in quantity for the price but ok for my level of hunger.

We rode back and returned the Bike to the rental place. It was already around 9:30 p.m. and there wasn’t a soul in sight. My homestay was a 15 minute uphill walk from the bike rental place. I waited out, as my friend had a conversation with the guys and bonded over a certain organic plant. I wanted nothing to do with any kind of smoke, or may be I am just older now.

As I stood there, at a sub zero temperature, looking up at the clear sky with thousands of stars, I tried to ignore the rising temperature of my body and the chilling ache at the back of my head. I tried to remember why I was here, so many miles away from my dog, from my parents, from my boyfriend and from home. It was difficult to find an answer at that moment.

It was a silent walk back uphill that night, I had become a stranger to my own friend, and shut myself in a shell, partly because of how sick I was and partly because I had no idea what I was doing there in that state.

That night, the discomfort at the homestay, the growing silence between me and my friend, the fever and the homesickness, and the freezing fucking cold, made me shed a tear or two before I could sleep.

Yes, travel is not all sunshine and joy. Sometimes, it’s frostbite and tears. It’s important to experience and let yourself feel both.

Day 2 was no better.