My first travel to Ladakh - Dream Destination (Part 1)

Instead of wondering WHY this is happening to you, consider why this is happening to YOU. HH Dalai Lama

May-June 2010 it was the first trip to Ladakh & it was going to be a dream come true, As I was leading a group so I wanted to prepare myself, I did packed everything I required & told my family about this trip & decided to go two days before for Acclimatisation& to check all the logistics were ready for group or not, 28th May 2010 I reached to Delhi airport since it was an early morning flight (mostly flights to Ladakh are operating early morning), so I hardly slept that night, I was worried because at that time I was not happy in flying & was scared in this case it was little more as Leh Airport is situated in between the Himalayan Mountains & only expert pilots can fly to this airport, I was flying with Jet Airways I did check-in so far everything was fine then after security I went to a coffee shop to grab a cup of Cappuccino, It was 4 am & my departure time was 5 am so I decided to go towards the gate,

View of planes on standby at Delhi Airport

Yes it was excitement of going to ladakh but here starts the adventure, i was told that the flight is delayed for an hour, i could do nothing so i waited then again an hour more delay, now all the passengers were loosing patience but that i have a lot so i stayed cool, then Jet airways gave vouchers for free breakfast & i went to food court had my breakfast then again headed back to the gate, after more further delay finally they started boarding (in these sectors delay is normal because weather condition can change anytime so be prepared about it), after boarding we were ready to fly & my dream was just an hour & half fly time away, we were told reason for delay was snowing in the morning & now weather is clear & we have permission to fly, i was seated on window seat & its highly recommended when you fly to leh because as soon we come close to Himalayan range one could see breathtaking view of beautiful mountains, we were served refreshments on the plane & while pilot was announcing to get ready for landing, i was still lost in those spectacular views...

Ok so seatbelt fastens, window shade open, seat upright all set for landing, this time I was scared as I could see our airplane (it was Boing 737-700) flying in between the mountains & making sharp turns to align aircraft with the runway & then I felt that suddenly aircraft is going up & figured that we are doing a go-around & while we flew around the airport I could spot runway clearly & again pilot started to descend & align with the runway, finally pilot announced cabin crew to be seated for the landing & we were so close to land but suddenly for my shock instead of landing we were flying up with full thrust & this made my heart beat faster as soon everything gets stable & we all were looking to each other then comes the voice of pilot that weather situation is not appropriate for landing, therefore, we are flying back to Delhi, all the way during flying back to Delhi I was thinking that something is wrong with aircraft & will it be an emergency landing? why are we flying back? we again prepared for landing in Delhi, this was a normal & smooth landing, I took a deep breath & we walked out from the plane.

In our daily life, tolerance and patience have great benefits: developing them will allow us to sustain and maintain our presence of mind. - HH Dalai Lama

Yes like you are asking what happened to Ladakh trip similarly all these questions were raised inside my mind, then we were informed due to bad weather today in Leh we cannot fly but they rescheduled the flight for next day, they provided us a nice hotel to stay & all the passengers were taken to hotel & we rested.

Its always better to be late then being Late Mr.

Next day after an early breakfast all the passengers were picked up by the airline's shuttle & inside I was praying that today we should make to arrive Leh in-fact everybody in the bus was doing the same, so we arrived airport & did check in again then we proceeded towards our gate of boarding this morning too started with news of an hour delay but then we started boarding the plane, as the crew was preparing the cabin we were welcomed by the pilot & it was a voice of a lady I think her name was Captain Akansha, I felt so proud because back in 2010 it was not so common & it was my first lady flown flight & she was taking us where only experienced pilots are taking command - that was a sign of positive & developing nation.

our plane took off from Delhi & I again witnessed those beautiful mountain ranges & yes this day we made it & finally we landed in Leh Airport, there was a joy & cheer on the faces of all the passengers & they all were clapping & cheering.

I was lucky to greet our pilot as she was finishing document work while we get-off from the plane, we were at 3500meters (11500ft) it was very cold compared to Delhi & it was my first time in my life to be in a place that colder, it was 5 degree Celsius.

Our Jet Airways aircraft at Leh Airport

I took my bag & went outside the airport where my driver was waiting & he took me to the hotel, he gave me a strict direction to take rest, drink as much water you can & do go outside just stay in your room.

While going from the Airport to the Hotel

we arrived at hotel & I went to my room where I slept for while then I decided to go for a walk ( never do this when you arrive Ladakh you need 24hrs complete rest to acclimatize yourself in high altitude ) but soon I realized that it was hard walking & breathing so I sat down & my head was just spinning, luckily the driver who dropped me he was there & he took me back to the hotel where I rested for all day, in the evening my team came to meet me & we discussed plans for next days.

Instead of looking to blame others and the world around us, we should first look within ourselves. HH Dalai Lama

The next morning I was feeling better & we went to the airport to pick up the group ......

....to be continued in part 2

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