Travel scribbles

I've been day dreaming about this week for almost 2 months now. Ever since I booked my to-and-fro flights to Leh. I am going to Ladakh for the Markha valley trek from 25th September to 5th October.  The earlier plan was to take a flight from Delhi to Srinagar and a bus from Srinagar to Leh. However, it seemingly turned out to be a very inefficient idea. I would have spent a lot and still traveled for close to 2 days each side. I have been preparing for this trek since the last month and a half. Physical Prep The sessions in gym have been focused on building core strength, cardiovascular endurance more than just piling on muscles. There have been hurdles. Moments when I didn't feel like getting up from the bed, let alone going to the gym and push myself. But the end result is satisfactory, I can notice I get less tired after doing the same amount of cardio exercises. That's one way of quantifying progress. Now I just hope it translates into results while I

"Why trek at all?" might be the initial question. I have always felt that trekking/hiking has a healing factor. It distracts you from the possibly stale life you have. Now, you might be the happiest person in the world with all the riches, great friends, wife/husband, stable job, cars and .. an endless list of things. You might have all of that or some of that. Regardless, it goes stale. Your mind craves for new stimulus. Taking a hike up the mountains provides that stimulus and more. You meet new people who are often very different from the kinds you know. New cultures, customs, traditions, routines. I personally find meeting new people a very refreshing experience. Especially, the people who are far cut off from the urban life. Imagine, not knowing what traffic, pollution, crowded roads is like. It is life, as it was meant to be. Trekking Solo Trekking or even traveling solo has many dangers. Mostly, it all circles around "Safety concerns". Whi