All Roads (High & Rough) Lead to Ladakh-Another Indian Adventure

RB · 2024-09-29T10:52:02+1000

We have covered a fair bit of territory in India but our regular driver/guide Magan has been keen to show us around the far north. Sept is a fair time for this sort of adventure- perhaps still a little wet around Manali but predicted to be good weather further north. I have posted a couple of earlier reports on here India 2023-Back to India-Camels, Mustard, Safaris and Living like a Maharaja. | Australian Frequent Flyer and And Our Driver Said You Need A Good Horn, Good Brakes & Good Luck to Drive In India | Australian Frequent Flyer

Our itinerary is pretty flexible but this is a general outline of the plan-Manali being the only overlap from previous travel along with a quick 1 night stay in Chandigarh to break-up travel time.

We are somewhat limited by the Aust Govt travel warning against travel to the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. Magan had some health issues so he missed the first few stops but his long term associate Chander was a great driver/guide/associate throughout the trip.

Preparations
The online Indian visa application was something we had tackled previously, so we had a pretty good handle on the process. We got new passport photos done at Aust Post & that was easy & provided the size required. The visa was granted overnight after we completed the paperwork. We decided to get pills for the altitude and were prescribed Diamox- to be started before the serious rise in elevation and continue to take until a couple of days after we get to Leh. Other than that it was picking how much cold weather stuff to take, with Delhi expected to be mid 30’s for arrival (turns out we really overdid the cold weather gear). We have excellent neighbours so our house will be fine during our absence.

Our transport for the roadtrip.

We spent a lot of time with Chander & had a great time-excellent safe driver, fantastic knowledge of India and an excellent sense of humour. He has taught himself Italian after he found quite a few clients were from India!

Magan, 17yrs after we first met him-still a great asset to our travel

A few general scenes from our trip

RooFlyer · 2024-09-29T12:28:15+1000

Great to see Magan still in the business.

RB · 2024-09-29T12:32:15+1000

RooFlyer said:
Great to see Magan still in the business.

Think I have a few rock photos you might enjoy

RB · 2024-09-29T15:24:27+1000

PQQ-SYD ZL 6363
Booked just prior to the announcement of the Administration for Rex but no problems anyway. The Rex fare was over $100 each cheaper than Qantas so we saw that as a good option. Driven to PQQ by a neighbour & quickly through the check-in procedures at Port Macquarie- still a friendly, fast process. Only 17 passengers onboard & we took off pretty well on time. We sat in the pair side 2B & @C. The overhead bins are tiny so we crushed our bags on the floor in front of us. Only 1 flight attendant on duty but the tea/coffee/snack process was fast and efficient. Most others were seated in the back rows- I assume for balance purposes. Got the usual loop out to sea & well to the south of Sydney before a smooth landing. Ended up parked way over in a north-east corner before a bus ride into the Sydney terminal. Our bags were on the carousel by the time we arrived. Plenty of scaffolding/barriers & poor signing for walking over to T3 but we made it after some backtracking (should have gone via train entrance). Waited only 5 minutes or so for a 350 bus to Mascot (1st stop) and easy enough off-peak with our luggage. Only $1.77 for old farts with a Seniors Opal.

Port Macquarie Waiting area- very few flights these days

The Rex snack supply

Grabbed an easy lunch at Renegades Cafe Wine Bar Mascot-easy walk from our hotel and excellent service

RB · 2024-09-29T15:42:11+1000

Meriton Mascot Central
We have had good experiences here before so it was an easy decision to make. I am an Eminence member for rates, you don’t have to pay upfront & can cancel & rebook if the rate drops. We enjoyed a very comfortable stay for $167 for a 1 bedroom King room-great value for Sydney with excellent transport & food options. I suggest asking to stay on the Jackson St side as it is quieter. We had a sneaky view of the airport from our small balcony. (airport view rooms are available & there is a viewing deck). It is about a 5 minute walk to the bus stop and similar to the train station and a huge variety of food outlets. There is also a Woollies & a BWS for some chilled drinks.
That night I think we chose the wrong options at Western Legend BBQ-ate here previously in a group & enjoyed the food but this time our options were too much in thick batter.

Plenty of space (53sq m), everything works, good wifi, well located

View from our balcony

Part of Menu at Western Legend BBQ

RB · 2024-09-30T11:26:29+1000

Transfer to T1 Sydney
Some choices available with car/train & bus options readily available.
I had a Diddi discount so we used them to the airport in the morning. $14.27 & a good quick trip with an experienced driver- a Romania fellow who was well travelled and we had a good conversation.

TG476 A359 12A & 15A and TG 315 15A & B
Booked as a Lifemiles redemption as we were keen to run down our stash of points. We had not flown Thai for quite a few years and true to old form a small time change meant we needed to contact Lifemiles for a re-issue of tickets. There was also a late change to an old banger 777-200 into Delhi-not ideal but I still consider it a good use of points.
No waiting to be checked-in with Thai-bags checked to Delhi & both lots of boarding passes issued. We used the business class
line to get quickly to passport control. Also very fast through security despite being behind a family that seemed challenged by the process. We decided to go to the SQ lounge & we were in there within 25minutes of lining up to check-in.
Sampled the NZ Mumm & some breakfast with the lounge not very crowded. No flight calls in the lounge but we wandered down & shortly priority boarding was called. We ended up landing at a very distant gate & had a long walk to the Thai lounge-offset the official 18 minute early arrival. Our last flight through BKK was 2019 so the Midfield Terminal was new to us. THE MIDFIELD SATELLITE 1 SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORT
Our Delhi arrival was much more streamlined than last year. The airport was pretty quiet but we were shuffled between a few queues by staff trying to help-business to eVisa to Diplomat & we were soon done. Fingerprints again-still problems despite only 1 finger being required this time. Our bags were already on the carousel, we took the greenline but then had a haphazard final x-ray of our bags. As expected we were met by Magan and Chandra. It was less chaotic at the welcoming area but that all changed as we moved out to the humidity & carpark area.

Thoughts on Flights
Thought the amenity packs were well done-Jim Thompson packaging. Enjoyed the pre-departure Champers, hot towel supply plentiful, the food was fine (still good garlic bread), the inflight camera was excellent, storage around seat on A359 was ok, seats on TG315 outdated but managed some sleep. Staff we good & the cabin was neat & tidy

Breakfast in SQ lounge in Sydney