I arrived in Leh on the 3rd, and since then I've tried to make provisions to get to Zanskar. My contact here in Leh, Sonam, has his own private "loadcarrier" to travel there. He's been meaning to go to Zanskar to visit his family, and we figured we'd travel together. His estimated departure time was the 6th or 7th, although his work has seriously delayed his plans. In the meantime, Norbu and I have been looking for an alternative, asking people around town as well as Norbu's own friends and relatives.
Getting to the Zanskar mountains currently requires passing through the city of Kargil. Ladakh has two districts, Kargil District and Leh District, or, West and East. Kargil is mostly Muslim, while Leh is Buddhist. The people of the Zanskar mountains are Buddhist, however, and the administration of Kargil is not too thrilled about having them in their district. Kargil has made it nearly impossible to get to Zanskar without paying the taxi union of Kargil heaping tons of money. Since transportation throughout the district is leagally under their control, nothing can really be done about this.
So this is how it pans out. There are three "classes" of vehicles that I have encountered: passenger cars and taxis, buses, and loadcarriers (privately owned "Indian Hummers"). For the last few days, Norbu and I have been looking for a passenger car for me to hitch a ride with, but due to recent information, we have discovered Kargil District will now stop even privately owned cars that simply resemble taxis, looking for the tourists to fork out the cash. We have now abandoned this possibility. That leaves buses and loadcarriers. Buses have been leaving 3 or 4 times a week, but the ride will surely take years off of my life. The buses, unregulated by the Kargil taxi union, are so unbelievable packed and the drive is nonstop (20 hours) through the bumpy roads of Ladakh. Even Norbu, a Zanskar native, has only used this option once, and it was when he was in elementary school with his class. This is going to be the absolute last option for me. Although they are perfectly safe, I will probably be pretty crabby for some time after the ride.
Sonam's travel agency owns a loadcarrier for the drive to Zanskar. Sonam is quite determined to go to Zanskar, as his wife who resides there is very sick. He is so overloaded with responisiblity here in Leh that he is finding it very difficult to make the trip. He has encouraged me that he is leaving very soon, and it looks like I might just have to wait. Another option that has presented itself is to possibly trek to Zanskar with Norbu, although Norbu may not be available for this. Tonight we are going to look at all of my options, and figure out the best way to get to the monastery in Zanskar. This predicament has surely been challenging and has tested my patience on a number of occasions, but the prospect of peace and serenity in Zanskar is too hard to shake.
Getting to the Zanskar mountains currently requires passing through the city of Kargil. Ladakh has two districts, Kargil District and Leh District, or, West and East. Kargil is mostly Muslim, while Leh is Buddhist. The people of the Zanskar mountains are Buddhist, however, and the administration of Kargil is not too thrilled about having them in their district. Kargil has made it nearly impossible to get to Zanskar without paying the taxi union of Kargil heaping tons of money. Since transportation throughout the district is leagally under their control, nothing can really be done about this.
So this is how it pans out. There are three "classes" of vehicles that I have encountered: passenger cars and taxis, buses, and loadcarriers (privately owned "Indian Hummers"). For the last few days, Norbu and I have been looking for a passenger car for me to hitch a ride with, but due to recent information, we have discovered Kargil District will now stop even privately owned cars that simply resemble taxis, looking for the tourists to fork out the cash. We have now abandoned this possibility. That leaves buses and loadcarriers. Buses have been leaving 3 or 4 times a week, but the ride will surely take years off of my life. The buses, unregulated by the Kargil taxi union, are so unbelievable packed and the drive is nonstop (20 hours) through the bumpy roads of Ladakh. Even Norbu, a Zanskar native, has only used this option once, and it was when he was in elementary school with his class. This is going to be the absolute last option for me. Although they are perfectly safe, I will probably be pretty crabby for some time after the ride.
Sonam's travel agency owns a loadcarrier for the drive to Zanskar. Sonam is quite determined to go to Zanskar, as his wife who resides there is very sick. He is so overloaded with responisiblity here in Leh that he is finding it very difficult to make the trip. He has encouraged me that he is leaving very soon, and it looks like I might just have to wait. Another option that has presented itself is to possibly trek to Zanskar with Norbu, although Norbu may not be available for this. Tonight we are going to look at all of my options, and figure out the best way to get to the monastery in Zanskar. This predicament has surely been challenging and has tested my patience on a number of occasions, but the prospect of peace and serenity in Zanskar is too hard to shake.
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