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Ladakh - Planning The Trip

Over 2000 Km by road, in around 10 days. Stunning landscapes, wonderful people. That sums up our Ladakh trip. But how did it actually work? How did we make it happen? Read on to find out!  Leh, the capital of Ladakh , is accessible by air and road. Flying into Leh is the easiest, and time-saving option, while the road is the time consuming one, but with the added advantage of driving past some of the most beautiful landscapes in our country. Each option has much to recommend it, and we chose the road for just one reason – altitude sickness. Altitude sickness was one of my biggest concerns, since I suffer from motion-sickness. Yes, I do travel a lot, but that is despite my condition, and, over the years, have learnt how to handle it. I struggled with it when we visited Nathu-La in Sikkim, and wondered if I would be able to manage a week at the even higher altitudes that we would encounter in Ladakh. This was the reason we stuck to a basic plan, of only 9 days in Ladakh, though we
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Birds from my Window - Hoopoe

One of the best things about birdwatching is the excitement we feel on spotting a new bird. Even better is spotting a new bird in our own backyard! We were decorating the road outside our building with rangolis to welcome a procession of a local deity, and Samhith, who was hanging around, giving his opinion of our artistic skills, suddenly called me... This is what we saw....





a Hoopoe!!!!! In all honesty, it is quite a commonly seen bird, one we have seen many times before, but this is the first time we saw one at home!!! literally in our backyard! How could we not be excited!!




For once, I didn't have my camera with me, and had to run upstairs to get it while Samhith stood by, ready to stop people from frightening the bird away. Thankfully, the bird stayed where it was, till I managed to bring my camera and get some decent shots! 




The gaps in the stone paving of the compound, which so many of us have often complained about, seem to be providing the hoopoe with food. The bird somehow seems old and tired... or is it just me? It also didn't appear to be as bright as it usually does. All you experienced birdwatchers, any reasons you can think of, to explain? 

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Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

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