Some 35,000 feet in the air, as I looked out the plane window at snowcapped mountains below, it dawned on me that I was crossing a threshold. Leaving behind the known and entering unexplored territory. Landing in Leh made the differences even more obvious. Clean, pristine air, at a far lower temperature than I was used to in Mumbai. Rocky peaks lining the horizon, instead of concrete constructions. And the noticeable absence of the cacophony of city life.
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These differences continued to strike me throughout my short excursion in the union territory, which I was visiting for the opening of a new restaurant, Ryu Oka, at the five-star hotel Grand Dragon Ladakh. As five-stars are wont to do, my days in Leh were packed with activities to showcase the city and its culture—activities that I, as a first-time visitor, was grateful for. Not least of which was the first activity: nothing, which is a big part of acclimatising, necessary for the beginning of any journey at a higher altitude. The hotel staff have a regimen they follow to ease guests into the 11,500-foot-high environment that they’ve followed for years. Rest, at a 45-degree angle, and garlic soup—a local remedy that I will admit seemed to work just as they promised. Day one ended with a dinner of local fare followed by star-gazing on the hotel rooftop, which is a lot easier than it would have been in Maximum City.
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