A Late September Date with Pangong Tso

...continuing my travel series on Pangong Tso,

"Unse (here am referring to Pangong Tso) mili nazar k mere hosh ud gaye 
Aisa hua asar 
Aisa hua asar 
Aisa hua asar ki mere hosh ud gaye..." 

The above mentioned lines from an old Hindi song beautifully sums up my feeling when I beheld the sparkling blue waters of Pangong Tso on that September morning from the courtyard of Sasoma Homestay.

the blue waters of Pangong Tso as seen from the courtyard of Sasoma Homestay  

Without wasting any precious minute, the excited traveller in me quickly had a hurried bath, with hot water ofcourse, and stuffed myself hungrily with home-cooked breakfast of garam garam aloo paratha and milk chai (tea). The lady was unduly generous with the serving. I could take how much I wanted. I must mentioned I was the only guest of the homestay during my stay, there.

Leaving behind the homely feel of the homestay, I made my way through the gravel path to the shores of Pangong Tso, passing by a few homestays, a few empty restaurants, camps that were closed for the season, and locals going on with their daily life. To be frank and bluntly honest, the posh and the not-so-posh tourist camps were an eyesore in that pristine rustic surroundings.

private tourist camps all wrapped up as the season is over

The anticipation of being in close proximity to the shore of Pangong Tso as I neared towards it slowly and slowly left me feeling many a myriad emotions. I am unable to express "that definite moment" when eventually  found myself standing on the pebble strewn rocky shore of Pangong Tso. Love at first sight travelling moment! That rapturous feeling of a traveller's rush when a traveller laid eyes on a place which had been on the travel wishlist for a very long time.

 

the many shades of blue of Pangong Tso 

Standing on the pebble strewn rocky shore of Pangong Tso, looking at the blue colour lake spreading out before me, I wasn't feeling blue. On the contrary I was blue happy. I have never seen so many shades of blue. It's a revelation standing infront of this absolutely magnificient gift of Mother Nature. The brown-coloured barren mountains on one side, the shimmering of the lake water in the rays of the shining sun, the continuous lapping of the icy cold water on the shore, the reflection of the scattering clouds in the crystal clear water of the lake, the azure blue sky (it was cloudless most of the time), the stillness and the much desired solitude all around...yes, indeed anyone would be happy besides forgetting all the worries of the materialistic world in this natural surrounding. I was! I am absolutely sure most of you, too, who have been here. The responsible future visitors as well.😊

fluttering Buddhist prayer flags near the shore of Pangong Tso 

I spent my entire day on the shore of the blue lake from morning till evening. Not surprising, isn't it? Clicked tons of pictures and did absolutely nothing much, but deedar karti rahi blue lake ki (kept looking with love at the blue lake). Much to my immense delight there was nobody, not a single soul in sight, during the major part of the day on the shores of the lake. That's the perk of coming in off/low season.😉 Only towards late afternoon I noticed a group in another part of the lake during my leisurely stroll. 

cairns on the shores of Pangong Tso 

on the shore of Pangong Tso sits a girl

I sat on the pebble strewn rocky shore and looked and looked and looked at the magnificent blue lake as much as my travel crazy heart wanted. Still it wasn't enough!😁 Man, it's tough to satisfy my travel crazy heart. I leisurely strolled along the shore of the blue lake listening to the lapping of the waves and wholly immersing myself with the surroundings. With no one to bother me, I started my self-timer antics.😂 I am sure the blue lake must have been amused at my desperate attempt to get a good shot via my self-timer antics. But I needed someone to click a good picture of mine with the blue lake in the background. I saw a local guy in the far restaurant. I walked up to him and requested whether he could click a few pictures of mine with the blue lake. He happily obliged. Given below is one of the few pictures clicked by him.

one for the memories with Pangong Tso 

The welcome solitude of the place gave me the opportunity to contemplate on random thoughts. The Himalayas and mountain areas always and always gives a slight nudge to make us think and ponder about life and the world. I had my alone time in peace and silence here. What else is needed?

Around 1 p.m. leaving behind the spot where I was having my alone time since morning, I decided to leisurely stroll along the banks of the blue lake bringing me to newer and newer part of the blue lake. It was late September. And, the few trees were showing their resplendent autumn colours. Fall on the way. Cattles were peacefully grazing on the grassy brown patch near the banks without any care in the world. Leaving behind the shore of Pangong Tso, I slowly walked up to the main road. 2-3 locals were piling up cut stones from the side of the road into a vehicle. I again requested one of them to click my pic. The only disadvantage of travelling solo...no one to click your photo. The random people whom you meet comes to the photo-clicking rescue. 😀

it was afternoon, but still all wrapped up in warm clothing 

Autumn colours 

cattles peacefully grazing 

I continued walking on the main road. Being late September which is almost off/season, there were no unruly and noisy crowds. It was mostly empty. I had no complaints. Infact I was happy that the place was devoid of tourists. I had the place all to myself.

the main road and Spangmik village in the far distance 

Instead of going to the homestay, I looked for a restaurant to feed my hunger. Most of the restaurants were closed. Unfortunately! Luckily I saw a small restaurant whose door was opened. I hurriedly walked towards it and peered inside. The restaurant rescued me from hunger and served me hot food. Happy me!
I stayed a long time at the restaurant whiled away the evening time by conversing with the people of the restaurant. A few locals were there, too who had come for their evening tea. Since I was planning to Spangmik village next morning and there was no govt. bus scheduled for that morning, I enquired whether I would get vehicles to go to Leh town. Most of them assured me that I would surely get some or the other vehicle going towards Leh town. In addition they also informed me I could hitch a ride in the tourist cab by giving some money to the driver. I was worried because my ILP was expiring next day and so anxiety kicked in...if I get no vehicles.

Just before 5:00 p.m. I on an impulse decided to go near the blue lake. Damn, what an error on my part! It was freezing and almost impossible to even stand for a few minutes on the shore. I immediately left the place.

cold and freezing 

I eventually made my way to the homestay. I was cold and hungry again. The warm traditional kitchen of the homestay felt cozy and warm. Before being served the last dinner of my stay, the lady and I were engrossed in conversation. The Ladakhi elderly lady in the below picture is a relative of the lady of the homestay.

having my last dinner at Sasoma Homestay 

Since I needed to wake up early the next morning, I immediately retired for the night and was soon asleep.

...to be continued 

Below given is the last part of this series:
https://thehaflonggirl.blogspot.com/2019/06/adieu-pangong-tso.html?m=1

Thank you for stopping by!
Happy travels!


Travelled on: 29 September 2017

© All content and images are copyright of Hema Hazarika (thehaflonggirl).