Some photos from the Himalayas

[rich p]

But not your pants!

He was in-continent of Asia

 

[Dayvo]

He was in-continent of Asia

In the heat of the moment, he realised he had Delhi-belly!

Sorry Pongunagu, it gets like this sometimes!

 

[Kirstie]

My first impression was that it's a filthy, stinking sh1th0le full of con-men, cheats, beggars and pickpockets.

I hear ya! I've never in my life seen such squalor and abject poverty. It is a paragon of shite-holedness!

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Stunning, stunning pictures though... I wish I had the time to tour...

 

[Pongunagu]

I've never in my life seen such squalor and abject poverty.

Since I've come back, I've heard several people pontificating about the immorality of haggling, and tourists having a responsibility to share their wealth with the beggars. What a load of arse. In the mountains we met people who genuinely didn't have a single rupee to their name, but they didn't throw shoot at our feet and then demand money to wipe it off. Blimey. I've gotten all vexed just thinking about it!

 

[Stan]

.....What a load of arse.....

+1

Pongunagu, the best memories from my trip on the Leh to Manali surround the people I met, obviously in abject poverty, that did nothing than offer both their hospitality and a smile. No one tried to fleece us, we always paid the local rate but would always try to leave the locals with a positive view of us. I was always told when travelling to try not to pay above the going rate as this can create more problems than it solves.

 

[Percy]

Percy - map is now at the top of the photos page.

Cheers Pongunagu - I always like to see a map to bring it all together. Looks like a great ride.

Interesting to hear the comments about poverty/Delhi/beggars etc. aswell. I have India in my sights so it's interesting reading.

I'm loving the red panniers against the grey rock on the 'descent into Nimmu' photo, by the way. Very nice. What camera did you use, out of interest?

 

[Pongunagu]

It's a wee Canon point-and-shoot thing - an A650is, chosen because it uses AA batteries which I figured we'd be able to get anywhere in the world. In fact, before we went, I bought the local Tesco's entire supply of Lithium AAs because they were half-price. I took about ten packs with me, but only had to change the batteries once despite heavy use of the playback feature.

We set it to 80 ISO, and the mode button was glued in the 'P' position, so we just pointed and pressed. No skill or technical intervention required!

 

[loz]

brilliant pictures, thank you

 

[Cathryn]

Absolute pleasure to work through the photos. They make Yorkshire on a cold, grey, windy evening even less pleasant.

 

[Scoosh]

Stunning pics - just wish my pc screen were bigger to see them in their full splendour

Thanks.

 

[tomb1960]

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO jealous thank you for posting those

 

[Auntie Helen]

This was a wonderful read about a part of the world that is evidently very beautiful but with its own series of challenges. Thanks for sharing them with us!

 

[Madcyclist]

Excellent pictures, its a route i'm keen to explore myself hopefully within the next 18 months if i ever manage to sell the house !!

 

[Morrisette]

Amazing pictures! What spectacular scenery. The air looks so clear.

Amazing to think that you guys were 5km closer to the sky than I am when I do my little ride home along the fen edge (height above sea level = 5m. Plenty of oxygen!)