There are essentially two ways to get to leh.
1.via Srinagar
2.Via Manali
I wanted to take the Srinagar way but due to the “Amarnath band” I could not. I went to Pathankot from Jammu and from Pathankot I went to Manali. The route via Manali is called a Cannon ball trip. It is so called because you leave Manali early in the morning and reach Leh in the evening. You see like a cannon ball, you find little time to enjoy the scenic beauty On the other hand if you leave from Srinagar you have plenty of time as you have to spend the night at Kargil. I have heard that this a better way but then it all depends on the ground situation in Srinagar.
From Manali you get a room, the rooms are pretty cheap somewhere around Rs.200 per night, Tell the reception that you want to go to Leh, he will send a travel agent to you .I don’t remember so correctly of how much it costs from Manali to Leh Rs500 per person.?
Rest stop in way to leh
Bargain is the key word, don’t be ashamed to bargain I landed in manali on a monday morning and left for leh on a Tuesday morning at 2am. Beer and wines are cheap in manali, ask for Peace Cafe.. it’s a nice place to eat. Due to the recession you may find hotels to be even cheaper. I haven’t been around Manali much but I am quite sure there is nothing much to see.(except dope, you do know what Manali is famous for don’t you )
Make sure you tell the agent that you will pay the next half in the bus when you are about to climb it..this way you are sure that he comes and wakes you up …. Otherwise they just leave..its not their responsibility if you do not reach the assigned spot on time…I mean 2 am in the morning. O ya cops… Himachal cops love tourist.. …as tourism is the main stay of Himachal…don’t be afraid to approach them they are very friendly.. no really …manali is the heaven for foreign tourist … .. so they are nice..if you feel cheated or robbed,., call the cops .
Well, I bribed the driver with a 100 rupees so that he does not make a fuss if I want to take a piss or have a beer in the bus… you might find that to be a good idea.
Get “Diamox” tablets.. … they help you slow your body consumption of Oxygen and something like that. You will have to stop at a lot of places in the way enjoy the scenic beauty… be friendly with the driver…offer him a cigg…. no…. no…. no….. do not offer him a beer to risky….you can offer him after you reach to Leh but not before that.
As soon as you land in Leh.. you will find a person who will politely ask you if you need a room. the rooms are cheap here too …150-250 … anything within 400 is good enough. If you eat break fast in the hostel make sure that you pay instantly as with me the bill
I had to pay for breakfast at the end of the trip made me go red. You know I suspect that I did not eat 3 packets of bread in 7 days. There are two atms there…one SBI and one PNB.. the PNB Never worked…there is a huge line in front of the SBI one…take your money out in early morning
The only two cellphone connections working in Leh are BSNL and Airtel… and that too post paid.. So you might want to get a post paid connection of Airtel and that too soon.
Pang gong tso
Leh is essentially a beautiful and try to keep it that way.. Bargaining is NOT a way to go as people here are simple and the first price they quote is the last price.. it is more or less embarrassing to bargain here.
Things to do
1.Brown water Rafting…Dangerous but fun… very long 30km if i remember correctly…600-750 per person
2.Chang… the locally brewed beer.
3.Pang gong tso .. very nice place.. you might take into account that you might be stuck there for one night as the roads are closed after 3pm… fun though spending the night there is fun. Been there done that. I had to stay there. I will can send you some pics if you want.
TSO in ladakhi mean lake
4.Monastery… you need to go to at least one monastery ….
Inside a Monastry
You might want to miss the kings places… I did…
5. Drive a bike…well rent a bike and go around the Leh and Ladakh… don’t go too far…pick a straight road and start riding … when you feel scared or lost, turn back and start riding back…. they take your debit card or ATM card as a security and Rs.600 per day for Pulsar and Rs.700 for a bullet and you need to have a valid driving license.
You cannot steal the bike as you have nowhere to go …you will be caught either in Manali or in Kargil..that was what I was told 
Test drive a bike before you take it …you can do the local sightseeing on the bike… you know fun and “Dhoom macha le”….. you might want to be aware of the military trucks… as they own the roads there… better safe than sorry… whenever you see an army truck
you might want to go down on “Dhoom Macha Le” as the truck driver might not reciprocate the excitement and you may be under the truck.
6.Trekking… I haven’t done it but you might want to do it
7.Food…food is costly in leh…yes it is..very costly… Stupid Noodles can cost you 25-40 rupees, so you might want to …I dunno, get used to some chinese food I guess, irrespective…even they are costly… North Indian food is costly too. Transportation of food items is a costly issue I think
The Lonely traveler ! Romancer of the Himalayas
You might want to cut down on smoking there… well you will cut down on smoking once you reach there The biggest mistake that you could possibly do is to go for rafting the next day you reach to Leh…the first two days you reach to Leh should be taken safely..you have to rest and let your body acclimatise…you might not feel it but your body needs it..it was also the reason as to why Indian army lost a lot of it troops in the Kargil war…they did not have enough time to acclimatise and hence forth their brain and body could not get used to the low oxygen level and hence high fatality.
If you don’t then water will start accumulating in your heart and you will die. The only cure for that is losing altitude fast.
You don’t want to die on a holiday trip ..Do you?
O ya ,,,, you might want to rent a bike and go to the war memorial … the pather saheb and the magnetic hill…. okay there is nothing called the magnetic hill it is just.. I dunno …I heard a lot about it …when I reached there.. Well you tell me what you saw there and then I’ll tell you what I saw. Nothing!!!
Sindhu River
Accha, I would recommend that you leave Leh and come via Kargil. I have heard a lot about that route… it is very scenic…you leave on 1st morning and you arrive in Srinagar on 2nd night…you get to stay at Kargil and have a look at Kargil Shaheed I have not been around Srinagar but you might want to go to the Shankrachayra Matt there. Get on the bus from Srinagar to Jammu..this again is a very beautiful route.. don’t be scared of the militants.. There are no militants in J&K ..Only the Hurriyat Conference…if you follow politics you will know..if not then forget it.
Jammu …go to the shiv temple … there is a spatik lingam placed by the King of Jammu From Jammu keep a couple of days as a rest time …you never know I would keep them and then get a train back to home…You might want to pack a leather jacket for the cold in Leh ….Srinagar is not cold…just one leather jacket is enough. you will be provided bedding where ever you go.. i mean hotels,get some gloves and socks.. I hate dirty drippy socks… Get clean socks,,, two towels, undies…lots of undies….. a pair of jeans and 5-6 shirts…travel light… that is the secret to a trip… the more clothes you have the bulkier…. get a back pack kind of a thing.
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