TOURISM INDIA MARCH 2019 TOURISM INDIA MARCH 2019 | Page 43

caps, not knowing how exactly a
negative temperature would feel. Our
initial prognosis was that it could be
tolerable, but we soon changed our
minds. As part of the training for the
Chadar Trek, we took on three days of
acclimatization, and in those days we
shivered, some sobbed and many of
us shopped. Leh’s market was vibrant,
despite the weather and the people
were as warm as the winds were cold. and Khambir. We took a minute break
from our acclimatization to mingle
and make jolly, and marvelled in the
Ladakhi folks ability to be merry even
through the harshest of winters. As
we approached the date of the medical
check up, the difficulty of the trek truly
began to dawn on our minds. We had
all known this was no easy feat and
we’d taken on small prep tactics as part
of our daily schedule to make ourselves The sun rose quick on day one of
our trek, and we clambered aboard the
vehicle which would drop us to our
start point. The mood was energetic
and lively within, and no doubt we
were all reminiscing on the journey
that we’d come for and our motivation
for having made it that far. As we
reached ShingraGongma, the winds
made us all a bit frantic to begin our
walk. We met our support team for the
We joined into the spirit and kept
ourselves busy and engaged with the
beautiful culture around us. A lovely
addition had been a visit down to the
Choklamsar village where we were the
special guests of Mr. Angchuk and his
family. They served us a traditional
ladakhi style meal of Momos, Chutaki more fit. But yoga, morning jogs, cold
showers and pranayama were a matter
of the past as we stood to get ourselves
medically cleared.It was a moment of
sheer joy when the entire group passed
the test! One hurdle complete, we
went to bed anticipating the next day’s
adventure. very first time, and their happy smiles,
perfectly piped black tea and hot maggi
for lunch endeared them to us quickly.
And so we walked on ice for the very
first time. In the exhilaration of the
beginning, we laughed collectively at
those who slipped, helped each other
up and reached Shingra in very jolly
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