TRAVEL FEATURE - I n d i a
KAMLESH KALTARI
UNEXPLORED TERRITORIES
An adventure freak and travel
enthusiast , I believe travel has the power to heal and it certainly ignites a strong sense of purpose in me .
Venturing into unexplored territories , meeting new people has helped me embrace life . One such life-changing experience was my recent road trip to Leh Ladakh .
We were eight ordinary individuals navigating through the backdrop of snow-clad mountains , appealing valley , passing through the most picturesque places on earth our journey covered Srinagar , Sonmarg , Kargil , Leh Ladakh .
Personally , it was a dream come true ; to ride a ( Royal Enfield ) Bullet , that old heritage , mean machine , which is not a bike but an emotion to the many ‘ cult ’ followers through the Himalayas . We took roads less travelled , filled with many emotions as we found places not often visited .
The distance from Srinagar to Kargil is approximately 205 kilometres . Within a short distance we witnessed a beauty rarely seen and realised that the drive to Sonmarg was going to be the most scenic of rides . During our journey , we witnessed orchards ( apple & cherries ) and a garden of pine trees . We observed many soldiers who seemed to be posted every 50 metres on difficult terrain just to ensure the area was safe for tourists .
On enquiring , we were informed the situation had improved quite a bit compared to a decade ago . During this , I realised how fortunate and blessed we all were yet keep complaining about petty issues of life .
Having witnessed the tough conditions in the valley and hearing the problems faced by the locals in their daily lives we prayed that the tension in the area would soon be over so that if not this generation then following generations can live a
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