FIRST SNOWFALL

The sky is as clear as Ladakh !!!

The air was crisp and pure, carrying with it the essence of the barren earth and the distant promise of adventure.

Yes, Ladakh is an adventure spot for people but for us, the sky was the thing we loved in Ladakh, in the second month of traveling we reached Ladakh by hitchhiking although hitchhiking throughout Kashmir was super easy, Ladakh was a bit opposite, there are lots of people who literally helped us, We hitchhiked to most of the places where people said it’s hard to reach and roads are dangerous.

The most beautiful journey was to Zanskar, after saying goodbye to Kashmir we got a direct lift to Kargil, covering Zojila Pass, the best hitchhiking experience with a stranger who was a native of Kargil, The initial plan was to reach Sonmarg and stay, but eventually, we got a direct lift, so we decided to go to Kargil.

Javed was a great person with a friendly gesture, he guided us throughout the way, we chatted a lot, chilled with music, and even he stopped in some places to take pictures and videos, while you travel with strangers it’s a great experience to get to know their perspective of traveling, mingling with people, and their gesture of kindness...

Throughout the journey, we shared the story of our journey with him, and that was a great experience for us. After reaching Kargil, he helped us with stay and guidance for our further movement plus awareness program, but sadly vacation was going on in Kargil, so we weren't able to conduct sessions in Kargil.

So we decided to go to Zanskar but not directly, moving from village to village. After so much inquiry to local people and Javed, we decided to go to Sankoo, a small village on the way.

This time we got a public transport (bus) which cost us around Rs. 70, after reaching the village, our first step was to get in contact with the schools for an awareness program, but we arrived a bit late and schools were already closed, and suddenly we met a person "Shabbu", who helped us selfless to find a place to stay in tent.

We spent a beautiful evening in a picnic spot where children come from school to camp overnight. This was the aww experience to see kids go camping and enjoy their childhood with so much of great experiences in their initial days ..all credit goes to the school management who do such great work, so our night camping was great.

The next morning we went to a school for introducing ourselves for the volunteering work we do for kids in Fitness and Dental Health.

The principal was so young and talented we remember her name "Fatima", was a great person with manners and generosity, she heard us throughout and promised us to talk to the management and arrange a session after the weekend as it was already their picnic week. So for that period, we decided to go to Zanskar and explore the beauty.

It was too cold in Sankoo in July, so we stayed in a homestay which was budget-friendly. The next day we decided to move early morning to Zanskar, while we were trying to hitchhike we met a person who was near to our homestay planning to go next 30 km, the place named Panikhar.

That gentleman guided us that he would leave us near a checkpost, their we could get lots of trucks and other vehicles going towards Zanskar, so we started our journey with him, again a good experience with a strange person who again helped us selflessly to reach initial way of our destination, lots of chit chat with him, lots of helpful guidance, we reached Panikhar, thanked him and got down the vehicle and we stayed near the checkpost to hitchhike again.

We were carrying cardboard, "pls help, lift please, and our channel name, "Life of Hodophile", was the only way to seek the attention of vehicles coming towards us...

Some people make fun of us as well some people say you are doing drama, traveling for free, but let me tell you, to get a lift is not easy, to ask for help is not easy, and to trust a stranger is not easy. These all need patience as well as guts, not every person has that, so we continued to wait for a lift and asked people for help.

After 2 hours of waiting, we finally got a lift in a truck. And halfway to Zanskar, the place called Rangdum, Ahh I said Kashmiri people are gems, the proof was we got a lift from a Kashmiri person, again to reach halfway....

He was a great person with lots of stories to share with us, Actually, he was a pro driver, and we should respect all drivers because driving through these dangerous roads needs guts and experience, they have both without any ego within them.

The roads were dangerous, off roads throughout the way and they drove the truck confidently and with lots of care and presence of mind. We shared our stories, chit chatted a lot, and in between it was raining so the route became a disaster, but we safely reached Rangdum. Still, it was raining and we had no such places in between to pitch a tent and stay because it was too chilly outside, with that fear we got off the truck but, I think we are lucky people we got public transport (Bus) from Rangdum to Zanskar.

After saying a hurried goodbye to these kind-hearted people, we ran towards the bus it stopped at Rangdum for some refreshments. So we got onto the bus to reach our final destination "Zanskar". JKSTRC was the savior for the day.

We came to know there are bus services twice a week and the prices are too low around 500rs /person from Kargil. We got onto the bus from Rangdum so we sat in our respective seats and enjoyed the journey. Through the window, the roads were too dangerous and more beautiful, we saw glaciers on the way...Roads are gone and people are still working on the road maintenance.

We got stuck for 2 hours on the way because of a blast of stones, So we got down and mingled with lots of people, we interacted with the driver again. He was the Kashmiri...

Those Zanskar mountains, they're like something out of a dream !!!

Picture this: You're standing there, surrounded by snowcapped, mother nature mountains...

Snow is always a white carpet for the world, making everything look super clean and quiet. It's like nature's way of saying, "Hey, slow down, and have some fun!" after enjoying these spectacular views it was almost dark, finally, we reached Zanskar's main city "Padum" at midnight, it’s too cold out there, we tried to get help from local people in the bus itself but we didn't get any and finally we talked to the bus driver and he is such a gem, he allowed us to spend the night in the bus.

You know, there are these awesome folks out there who are just super helpful and kind. They're the ones who'll give you a hand when you're stuck, a friendly smile when you're feeling down, and go out of their way to make your day better. So we spent a night on the bus but that was not the last time...

The next morning we got up and fresh around, had some good food from near dhaba, and decided to explore "Padum", we heard there were lots of monasteries in this place so we decided to ask the local people about it, and explore, meanwhile, we came to know there is electricity issue in Zanskar.

Electricity is available for only 1 hour in the morning and evening, 6pm to 2 am, network connectivity is also not good for Airtel, only BSNL and Jio work(I think it's better now).

We headed to a nearby Monastery named Guru Monastery which is 2 km from "Padum" Main City. We walked through the shortcuts that were guided by a local person and reached the Monastery.

Small and peaceful place, we met a Lama who is around 90+, talked with us, and spent time with us and that was magical from Guru monastery. Again we can see a monastery up the hill, "Karsha Monastery", it's the hidden gem in the middle of nowhere, up in the Zanskar Valley. Imagine this ancient place, all nestled in the mountains, and it's like stepping back in time. You've got these super chill monks in maroon robes, and they're all about their Buddhist vibes.

The monastery itself is like a maze of prayer wheels, colorful flags, and golden statues. And when they ring those big bells, it's like you can feel the good vibes echoing through the valley. The views from up there are absolutely mind-blowing! It's like spirituality and nature teamed up to create this epic spot. We walked and hitchhiked halfway...Again it's up the hill so we walked around 2 km up steep to reach the Monastery, it's worth it...

The peaceful and epic view from the top...

Beautiful pictures on the wall inside the Monastery, with lots of ancient stories of spirituality...we spent some time in the Monastery and got down.

We got a lift from a monk ....who is working in Hyderabad and came to serve the "Karsha Monastery" for the wintertime. They greet you with serene smiles that seem to transcend language barriers. They're quick to offer help, and the monk was so kind he dropped us to the main Padum city....

Again we didn't get any place to place our tent so the bus driver allowed us to stay inside the bus due to the cold weather and suddenly it started raining for the whole day, the cold was too much for us to bear with, we stayed inside the bus, in the evening time rain was less so we had our dinner nearby dhaba, and after coming back we slept inside the bus.

The next morning I woke up and saw from the window something a whitish thing was falling off, I just cleared my eyes and opened the window and guess what it was...

Snowing !!!

Haaa Haaa Haa it's literally snowing in July.

It was like tiny, cold feathers falling from the sky. We experienced our first snowfall.

It was magical.

As we looked outside, the world had transformed into a winter wonderland, covered in a sparkling white blanket of snow. We couldn't help but smile and feel the excitement of the season. Snow covered everything like a cozy, white blanket. It muffled sounds and turned the world into a peaceful, frosty dream. It was literally a dream for us and we became a kid, we forgot it was too cold, we wore our ponchos and got out in the snow and enjoyed the snowfall, it was all about fun and giggles. Those snowy days were the best! ❄️😄with the snow we spent our day well, waiting for another surprise the next day, the bad news was the bus was not moving due to snowfall and bad road conditions so literally we got stuck in Zanskar.

The next day was better, the snow blanket was gone and the sun was shining, we decided again to explore Zanskar, we tried to hitchhike to "Pukhtal Monastery" but we didn't get any lift because of the low transport facility, then we decided to go "Shani Lake" which was 2-3 km away from Padum city, for that we got a lift in an open Bolero...

We went to "Shani Lake" and sat there, the place is soo beautiful and peaceful with a lake and a statue of "Maitreya Buddha", we enjoyed the captivating beauty of the lake and nature...

Again we got a lift to Padum City, and in between we had a great conversation with the two young boys in the vehicle they were so informative I asked them about any local foods, and they said 'Did you have local food "Bhapa" ',... "Bhapa" !!!

We said "No", they said you won't find it in any shops, it's available only in local homes....and after reaching we went to find "Bhapa" anywhere.

While going to Shani Lake we met a lady who guided us, she was a Nun. Again we met her and I don't know how I asked, anyway I asked, "Can you provide us "Bhapa", your local food, we really want to have that and we heard that it's available only in local homes.

She stood and thought for a while and said yes let's go to my home and I will make for you people. We thanked her as well as too surprised, we went to her home which was near...We bought some tomato for the chutney and started preparing for "Bhapa" with her, she served us some tea and it was soo nice of her.

Finally, the dish was made, it is cooked with barley in hot water and had with curd or tomato chutney...We enjoyed the dish together, it was too tasty and we were overwhelmed by the behavior and kindness of a Nun serving the dish to strangers whom she never met and known earlier, it was a great experience, literally, Food Joins Hearts...

We had lots of chit-chat with her, With lots of love and respect we said goodbye to her and came back to our bus and took rest.

The driver gave us the news that tomorrow we would move from Zanskar, and people started to come and enquire about the bus time, there we met two great people, Mr. Peter, from Australia wandering in Zanskar because he loves India, and Mr. Utkarsh the cycle boy, who is exploring Zanskar for the last 1 month, both people sat in the bus with us and we had some great conversation about our different mediums of traveling and experiences.

We made coffee and enjoyed it, we had a small soup and Maggie party at Utkarsh's room, and literally traveling makes you meet new people with new perspectives of traveling, and the next morning head back to Kargil in JKSRTC Bus, it’s our beautiful and extraordinary journey in ZANSKAR.