The Himalayan Sojourn, Chapter 1: The Arrival

" Not more than 6 alkaline batteries in your handbag" - the lady at the security check at Bangalore Airport was adamant.She took out my batteries and threw them aside. I stared at her in disbelief -" But these are for my camera, I HAVE to carry all of them", I paused. "Can I put these in my co passengers' handbags?"-I pleaded. All the other guys were already through the security check and I could see them loitering around the restaurant. Her ice cold gaze didn't change for a minute.I might as well be speaking to a stonewall. She slid across a cancelled boarding pass - " Get a fresh one, check with your airlines if they can put the batteries in your check in luggage". I pocketed the boarding pass and walked  to the check in counter with a terrible scowl on my face. " But your luggage has been checked in till Leh, we can issue you a fresh boarding pass though". I walked back to the security check with the boarding pass, slid my six batteries aside and walked away. I was in a terribly bad mood which meant I shouldn't speak much.

" They took away all my freaking batteries. What if I don't get any in Leh now?". I grumbled away as I ate my dinner with my fellow trekkers. The Jet Airways flight to Delhi was already late by more than 3 hours , the flight was to tentatively depart at 1:00 a.m now. What a start to the Ladakh trip! " Relax, we will try and get your batteries back. We have enough time on our hands", Avisek said. We walked back to the security check after dinner. " Madam , we are all going to Ladakh and I asked her to carry my batteries as well. Could you please return them?. It may be difficult to get any in Ladakh , you see" , Avisek was at his gentlemanly best. I stood beside trying not to open my mouth at all. " Show me your handbags, do you all have cameras?" , she peered into three of the handbags to find a camera in each. "Okay" , she muttered nonchalantly and slid across my precious batteries. I burst into a gleaming smile as we walked away , I could have almost done a somersault!
We loitered around for the rest of the night till a boarding announcement was made for the Bangalore Delhi flight. My hopes of catching up with sleep aboard the flight were pretty much dashed. Once in Delhi , we caught up with the two others in our group who had already arrived in earlier flights. Luckily, the Delhi - Leh flight was on time.I sat bleary eyed aboard the early morning flight staring through the window below.An hour into the flight , the clouds disappeared to give way to a carpet of snowcapped ice peaks below.

Ladakh lies beyond the Greater Himalayan Range and the enchanting mesh of the Himalayan peaks and clouds continues uninterrupted for the entire last 30 minutes of the flight till Leh. The spell is only broken by the flight landing announcement. I quickly fastened my seat belts and put my camera inside ( for the best views, always ask for the left side window seat on the flight from Delhi to Leh , I unfortunately got a right sided one over the aircraft wing!). As we headed out of the aircraft to collect our baggage , I could feel the chill in the air and a slight but throbbing headache. "Altitude, let's hope this gets better fast"- I thought to myself. Two jeeps from the Ladakh Sarai had come to pick us up , the luggage was hauled and the jeeps raced ahead cutting through a landscape none of us had ever seen before. All around were the lofty peaks of the Himalayas,and a frontier of purple haze mountains of the trans Himalayan Ladakh and Zanskar Range,gradually descending into barren , arid land. As we stared around in disbelief , the realisation finally hit us - our journey into the Himalayan kingdom had begun. Juley!