Woke up early as we wanted to get to Leh and get some sights in Leh as well. Left the hotel by 6:30 am after some toast and tea. As most of the people who drive from pangong do the return in the same day, we had no traffic on our side and for the first hour none coming opposite as well.
It was awesome as we had the pristine location all to ourself. When am I ever going to be driving along flowing rivers, snowy peaks, icy roads, green on one side and brown on the other, sand blowing across the road, clear blue sky and sun light adding to the drama. Taking it all in .... slowly.
Soon we had to wait to allow army convoy but otherwise it was just great. A few more river crossings layer we were pleasantly surprised to see the road closed yesterday - open. Maaan....it made the drive so much easier. Of course the road had many huge rocks on the way but nothing compared to yesterday.
Came to Leh in 4 hours against the 6 it took yesterday!!
First stop was Shey palace and then we went to hall of fame. The hall had stories about the many wars that have happened in this region and how many people have sacrificed their life for us. Kids, Lakshmi and I had super time.
Post a quick lunch and short nap, we went to see Shanti Stupa. Very serene and it had super views of the entire city.
Tomorrow we attend to climb Khardung La (again).