All set to offer myself to blissful LADAKH

Hi all, I am off to a Paradise again. Yessssss.. the himalayan loving, mountain crazy guy is off to chasing his dream again. I am visiting the 'Land of Lamas - Ladakh', after a gap of more than two years. This time it won't be just traveling there. We are gonna climb a peak and I am all excited about it. Peak climb that too in Ladakh, it's a dream worth fulfilling. Ladakh has already made me feel special. First time when I visited, it opened all its breathtaking views for me. I was just amazed by its beauty and raw power. I usually feel great whenever I visit Himalayas and Ladakh has become my addiction.

The peak name is Stok Kangri- elevation 6,153 m (20,187 feet). It is the highest mountain in Stok Range of the Himalayas in Ladakh region. The view from the top is one of the best in the Himalaya, offering great views of the Zanskar and Karakoram ranges including K2 (8611 m) (the second highest peak in the world ,currently in POK). Reaching such a height will be a serious challenge. Our first target will be reaching Leh. In Leh, we need to make all the permits and then we will head to Stok Village. From here we will have to cover our way till the base camp (16400ft) in foot. When we reach Base camp after few days, we will halt for a day for acclimatization. From base camp we will aim for the peak. It will be a long journey of over 8 hours and we need to submit the peak by 10am, because after that the weather starts deteriorating. That means we have to start by 2am. he he he.. Over 16000ft in the night in Ladakh- I am frozen ice-cream. The thought of it is freezing my blood now. It will very tough to climb upto the peak, which is at 20,187 feet, with temperatures much below freezing point and virtually no oxygen. I won't miss my gym, bcoz at that height even breathing is an exercise.

I have never exposed my body to such a height before. I have climbed 18,500ft max, during my mountaineering course and this time I will breach it. I will be pushing my physical limits and nature will test me. I don't know how my body will react. I have trained hard and worked a lot on my stamina ,it should pay off now. Let's see what happens. I firmly believe the breathtaking view which I will witness from the peak and satisfaction which I will derive after the summit, will take all my pains away.

Friends, I feel honoured to share this journey details with you all. I definitely need all your wishes and encouragement for making my adventure successful. I will be hitting New Delhi very soon, where I will meet my group. There cannot be better start for my trip, as I will be meeting my best buddy, 'Sanjeev Bansal', before pushing off for Ladakh. It will be a huge boost to my morale.

Till the time I reach I see Himalayas again, my heart will sing - 'Country roads take me home, to the place, I belong.....'

My Tattoo Experience

Getting a tattoo was a long wish of mine. But to show off my tattoo I needed the muscles to flex it. So, once I got an ok sort of build, I decided to have it, the TATTOO.

For us, everything starts from Google. I got a list of Tattoo shops in Singapore. Sorted them out based on the accessibility from my office and home. Called them up and then decided to go for 'Whopper Tan's- Familiar Strangers' tattoo shop. http://www.familiarstrangers.info/

Over the email, we discussed upon the design, the rates, and finally we decided to fix the meeting. We zeroed on two designs. Apple Chu-the resident artist drew both of them and sketched them out for us. The whole process took nearly an hour and I was impressed by their professionalism and commitment to work. I think this is what happens when you do something which you are passionate about. We finally decided on the 'Dragon'. He he he, people beware, from now on I will have my own pet dragon on my right arm.

The process-

The artist sketched the whole design on a tracing paper and carbonized it. Then the part of body, which needs to tattooed was rubbed thoroughly with deodorant. The tracing paper was placed on my am and the design got copied. Apple then carefully sketched the missing lines.

The needles are out, the paints are open and machines are roaring..Fun part is over and now lets get down to serious stuff, which is very very painful :(

Whopper told me, the whole process might exceed 3 hours. My God!!!! 'Grrrrrrrrrr' machine started, Whopper and Apple looked at me in a very sympathetic way and OUUUUUCHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! there goes the needle on to my skin..First job is to complete the border. Whopper and his friend talked to me, to divert my attention whenever they saw me in pain. Half an hour into real physical punishment and I was wondering, why I am doing it?? If I was so eager to die, there are better and easier ways to it. Why suffering 3 hours of hardship??? Latter Whopper told me, people who have less fat in their body, feels more pain because beneath their skin there is blood, no fat. 'Brother, you should have told me earlier, I would have eaten burgers for a month and then come.' After some 1.5 hours, the bordering was complete and I could see blood all over my arm. 5 minutes break, life saving precious 5 minutes!!!

During the break Apple and Whopper discussed about the way forward. 5 minutes over, come here baby..The colouring started. Its more painful, the needles are scratching my skin. I once saw Apple, she was totally engrossed on the design and Whopper was closely monitoring the progress. What a dedication!!!! After more than 3.5 hrs at around 1:20 am, Apple finally said 'Finished'. Oh my God!!!! I was so relieved.. I saw my DRAGON on the mirror and I am satisfied man. Whopper and Apple quickly called for a photo session. After the payment, they thanked me and I thanked them in return for the wonderful job.

Quick Advice- Although painful I feel its worth having it. If anyone of you decide to have a tattoo, please think of what you want and always spend time on designing part. Also, carefully choose what colours to use. It should be based on the skin tone. Its always good to have it done from professionals and make sure the whole process is hygienic. Its very important that you take good care of the tattoo after it is done. The whole thing takes something between 2-3 weeks to get assimilated in your body.

Good idea -'Tattoo for revenge'- If you hate someone and want to take revenge or if you want your beloved to be taught a lesson, mind you there is no better way to do it, than to 'Gift them a Tattoo'. Sit through the whole process and when you see pain in their eyes, your revenge will be completed. They will remember you for the rest of their life.

With that note, I will stop. Enjoy the pics on the following link-

http://picasaweb.google.com/joedha/TattooExperience?authkey=Gv1sRgCO2HhJqxnKK1Lg&feat=directlink

Something big is coming up in my life in two week's time. Will keep posted...