This journey Started in Brisbane Australia in July 2025, via Hong Kong for a brief stopover and onto Delhi India where we arrived around midnight.
We had prebooked our accommodation near the airport because we had a 9am domestic flight to Leh the next morning. Its worth noting Delhi Airport has no wifi nor simcard stalls so we could not book an uber. After wading through hundreds of annoying touts claiming to be OFFICIAL TAXIS we got approached by another dodgy looking bloke claiming to charge the NORMAL TAXI rate, so we went with him and his offsider into a clapped out shitbox pretending to be a taxi lol.
The offsider sat next to the driver and asked which hotel we were staying at so i showed him our hotel booking and gave the phone number for him to call ahead. So he appeared to call our hotel and spoke in Hindi and then handed the phone to me. I got told this hotel was closed due to some industrial action and that our booking would be refunded by booking.com.
So then here we are at 1am, tired and grumpy so we allowed the driver to take us to ANOTHER hotel conveniently close to where we were, i walked inside to be greeted by another dodgy bloke and shown the grand hotel suite for the special price of 8000 INR ($160 AUD) which was 10 times the price of the original booking. Then it was time to pay the driver and he said he would give us a discount from 3500INR to 2000INR $35AUD for a fare that we paid 150INR $3 AUD when we returned to Delhi and had a local sim. Rookie mistake on my part, but we had no choice. Next time ask for the exact fare and not “ILL TELL YOU LATER” lol.
Lesson learnt:
1. Do not accept free roaming agent touting service. Go to the legit airport counters for taxi service.
2. Use Uber is a good alternative to taxis, as it is tracked using the online phone app.
3. Demand a receipt before allowing the card to be charged.
Moving onto the next morning, the same taxi driver was waiting for us but this time i used the hotel wifi to book an uber and paid 150INR to take us to the airport.
Thats the hotel the scammer took up to for 8000 Rupees. Looks nice at first but the bathroom was dirty and the toilet didnt flush lol.
Delhi to Leh
We decided to fly to Leh with Spice Jet instead of Air India because of the bad publicity after the Air India Crash in July 2025, its an hour long flight and costs about $170 AUD each.
We had a morning flight at 8:35am From Delhi – to Leh Ladakh
There were 2 domestic airlines going there, Air India and SpiceJet (and of course we chose SpiceJet 
)
Next morning we woke up at 05.30 am, showered, got dressed and packed our luggage. Because Lehladak is about 3,500 meters above sea level the body condition may not be able to adapt to higher altitudes, so we took Diamox Acetazolamide 250mg 1 pill every day to prevent the body from getting altitude sickness.
Symptoms of altitude sickness are dizziness, vomiting or having difficulty breathing, a dry throat. At these altitudes the body becomes dehydrated, so you should drink at least 3 liters of water a day. Let your body get used to it and adapt before climbing the altitude over 3500m. Physical activities should be reduced for the first few days at altitude because of the lower concentration of oxygen in the air.
Day 1 Arrival In Leh
We had already checked in at the gate at Delhi Airport, had some rice and then 1 cup of coffee each at Tim Hortons. Then boarding to Leh Ladakh, the flight took only 1 hour. This time, no photos on board the airctraft, as there is Indian military presence in the whole ladakh Area. Cabin Crew asked all passengers to close the windows, no photos-videos inside the landing plane all the way to the airport terminal for security. And we saw armed guards standing around the airport.
We had to fill out more arrival paperwork inside the Leh terminal after collecting bags, this is a tiny airport so the arrival area was crowded. Our hotel El Castello sent a driver to pick us up from the airport which is not very far. The transfer fee was 600 rupees ($15 AUD) which was very reasonable. Upon arriving at the hotel, the staff brought a welcome scarf along with tea and cookies. The Mountain View room was very good in Hotel El Castello and we felt the atmosphere here was totally different from the hustle and bustle of Delhi and the million car horns. Hotel was $40 AUD including breakfast for 2.
After checking in, we took a tour around Mall Road which was 500m walk from the hotel to organise 2 SIM cards with Airtel, requiring passport ID. Price was 500 rupees ($10AUD), it can be used for 28 days and 1GB internet per day, which is sufficiant for GPS and social media.
The next mission is to exchange some of our cash money. Since we have Australian Dollars to exchange for the Indian Rupee, we got $1 = 54 rupees // But if you exchange it at Brisbane Airport, we would only get 42 rupees which is a rookie mistake so dont ever use airport Money excange vultures.
Walking around Leh exploring, it seemed hot at 17-18 degrees during the day. We saw cows walking around unchained and crapping all over the place lol. Because people believe that cows are divine animals.
After getting a haircut, we came back to the hotel to meet our tour operator that will take us to Hanle 4500m on Thursday and Umling La Pass the next day, which will rise to 5,800 meters above sea level, the world’s highest motorable road. The agency organised an access permit, a car with a driver and prepare the necessary equipment to travel including an oxygen tank. During the meeting the hotel staff gave us tea and cookies, awesome service.
Today’s dinner is Momo it’s very delicious, it tastes like dumplings or Xiao Long Pao) Lemon juice mixed with mint. It’s very refreshing.
Followed by Cheese Pizza, Garlic Nann & Chicken Masala 
While sitting eating, I can see the mountain view, It’s 7 pm but the sky is still light.
Day 1 & 2, Acclimatisation In Leh.
As i mentioned before we needed to stay in Leh at 3500m ASL for a few days to acclimatise so we took this opportunity to do some sightseeing. We used taxis for this as thats the cheapest mode of transport ( $10 AUD for half the day) most attractions are close to the city.
Shanti Stupa is about 15 minutes from the city centre and costs about $1 AUD entrance fee, and there is a sign to walk clockwise only to avoid congestion during peak tourist times.
Old Castle Tesimo Hill is an ancient palace in Leh that takes about 20 minutes in the opposite direction from Shanti Stupa, and costs about $6 AUD entrance fee. This place has the same awesome views, however most of it is in ruins.
Day 3 journey from Leh to Hanle.
Today we meet our new driver Motub in his Toyota Prado type SUV, who will drive us 350 km via Pangong lake to Hanle which took about 8 hours.
Our first stop was Changla Pass which is at 5360m ASL, so we stopped there for coffee and selfies.
Next we stopped briefly just north of Pangong Lake for lunch in a roadside cafe in the middle of nowhere. Pangong lake is the highest salt water lake in the world at an elevation of 4350m ASL.
Our road trip went from Leh to Spangmik to capture the beauty of Pangong Lake and onto Nyoma for fuel. Its worth mentioning that fuel is only available in one petrol station in the region, thats Nyoma Village. We had to drive 30km out of our way from Loma Bridge over the Indus River to fuel up the car, and then double back 30km and Head towards Hanle.
We finally arrived at Hanle around 5pm and checked into UmlingLa Residency hotel. The rooms were awesome with exceptional decor given how remote this seasonal village is. There is limited electricity and wifi, so the hotel staff bring buckets of hot water to your room, this place is basically only to sleep for 2 nights in and out of Hanle enroute to Umling La. This place costs about $70 AUD per night including simple dinner and breakfast, which we found tasty and filling.
Day 4 Hanle to Umling La Return.
Our driver picked us up at 9am and we embarked on the 65km trip to Umling La, which consists of about 35km of unsealed roads and 30km sealed. The sealed section is at the Umling La end so the last hour or so you are driving on bitumen. There are virtually no signs on the dirt section with a few rocks with arrows painted on them, but our driver knew exactly where to go, because google maps is a bit sketchy out there. As we ascended the 1300m the weather went from sunny to overcast and finally to snow for the last 10km. When we arrived at Umling La we were amazed at the infrastructure there, not much but at least a souvenir shop and a few shipping containers as a mini cafe and another as a toilet. The oxygen level at 5800m is about 50% as compared to sea level, so even the smallest physical effort is amplified 5 fold.
After one coffee and a thousand videos and pictures it was time to return to Hanle to the same hotel. This time we stopped at Chisumle Bridge (Gateway To Umling La) and had lunch, which again was fantastic given they have virtually zero services. Check out the momos and onion pakoda. Food and teas and cokes about $10 AUD for two people.
On our return to Hanle our driver took up to Hanle Monastery and hanle Observatory for extra tourism activities. These were both free and interesting to visit, as well as check out the massive military solar farm in the area.
After our days adventures we decided to walk in the rain to a small store for snacks and a few beers, and took random pictures of locals in Hanle.
I also launched my drone to capture the beauty of the Hanle Area and also to showcase how small it is.
Day 5 return to Leh.
On our way back to Leh we drove a different way from Hanle which was a lot quicker as we didnt have to go via pangong as can be seen in the map below.
We stopped at a glacial waterfall to drink the mineralised refrshing water. The scenery alonng this way was also spectacular, showcasing the power of nature with landslides and flash flooding and massive rocks that had rolled onto the main highway.
We also stopped at the 15th century Thiksey Monastery for a look.
I was grateful i brought my drone to capture such a magnificent sight.
We arrived back in Leh around 3pm and checked into Hotel Lingzi – at the Mall Road & newly renovated apparently lol. This was $70 AUD per night.
Our next mission was to organise transport 450km south to Manali, and without an airport there we had limited options. if you look online there is vague information about 3 styles of busses but after going to the NEW BUS terminal to go ask questions we were told there was only one option.
This costs about $25 AUD per person for the 14 hour journey so we decided to check out share taxi options.
We found a travel agency in Leh that organised for us to have a taxi all to ourselves but at a hefty $280 which we gladly accepted.
Advantage of taxi is quieter, more flexible for stops, air conditioned and the ability to charge gadgets in the car.
There are also private SUV type vehicles that had a MANALI sign in the car window that people can share with @ $80/seat
Day 6 Leh to Manali.
Our driver picked us up at 6am outside our hotel and we embarked on the 425km journey.
Along the way we stopped at Tanglanlga Pass and had lunch at Sonam Pangri, where we had also stopped on our previous trip to the same area 2 years ago.
The scenery is forever changing with a lot of animals along the way, plus road repairs that seem to be progressing nicely, in 2 years about 60km of roads had been repaired and upgraded.
There were a few SQUAT toilets along the way and that is a physical challange in so many ways lol. Eventually we reached the ATAL Tunnel 9.9km long, and we entered in hot sunny conditions and exited in foggy rainy wet conditions as we drove through a mountain underground.
We finally arrived in Manali and got a hotel mear mall Road by simply walking around and finding one without using the internet, for $35AUD/night.
We booked it for 3 nights, to allow us plenty of time to look around, however due to the constant rain we were limited in activities, especially ziplining and water rafting.
Being coffee addicts we were determined to find a quirky cafe that served amazing food, and then we saw the sign for OFF LIMITS coffee, so we walked 1 km in the rain with an umbrella lol. It was well worth the effort, its also a hemp cafe although i abstained from those products.
Our hotel had good water pressure and hot water, with 2 armchairs and free wifi, all within 300m of Mall Road.
From previous experience in this area i was fully aware of possible landslides with many fatalities so i went to a travel agent to find out the status of the road conditions to Delhi from Manali. We wanted to catch the overnight bus back to Delhi which usually takes another 11 or 12 hours, however the bus hadnt been running for the last 2 days because of landslides, however the road opened again just in time for us to return to Delhi after 3 days. We had to catch a taxi to the Volvo Bus Stand down by the river, and then board the bus, run by Laxmi Holidays. The bus fare was 900 INR each which was about $20 AUD.
So we finally boarded the bus at 5pm for a 6pm departure, its more comfortable sitting in the bus than standing outside in the car park for the next hour. The bus had wifi and was pretty comfortable except for the constant horn blowing every 30 seconds for 12 hours straight. We were still travelling in daylight and we could see where the landslides had been recently cleaned up, i was just so grateful we didnt have to return to Leh and fly to Delhi if the roads to delhi hadnt opened. The Shimla area is renouned for massive rains and road destruction every monsoon season, so keep that in mind when you book to go there.
We arrived at 430 am and took the first taxi offerred because the bus stop had about 60000 people trying to sell you tuk tuk rides, its so overwhelming.
So we had prebooked a hotel close to the airport, but the taxi driver could not find it so after calling the hotel he was able to take us to the correct adress, this place is so disorganised you have to be on your A game 24/7. Our room had no water at all, so immediately the hassles began at 6am. Now i lost my patience and demanded to have the room in the picture and not some dark dismal depressing shithole of a room. The we were given an UPGRADE which was the room i booked originally, these people must think we are stupid.
Delhi Hotel TIP
This is so important that it gets its own paragraph, as all acommodation platforms like booking.com or agoda or expedia all have fake reviews and fake or outdated room pictures so be sure to read the most recent customer reviews that are NOT Indian Nationals, look for European , American or Australian reviews as these are accurate and honest.
Many other hotel reviews reflected hotel pools closed for renovations, construction jackhammering 12 hours a day, broken wifi or air conditioning. Lifts out of order, no towels or toiletries in 4 strar hotels, the list goes on, we were horrified as i have never seen fake stuff on booking.com for example. And the worst part is the hotels do not tell you of these issues at check in, so then you have the headache of getting refunds a month later etc. Always ask to see the room before you pay. So we had to kill 3 days in Delhi, so we decided to visit all the biggest malls, just to relieve the boredom. The traffic and noise is off the chain, taxis are all dented and in poor condition with smashed car panels the norm. We used to make a joke to see if we could get the biggest shitbox taxi in Delhi lol.
Finally the 3 days were up and we caught an uber to the airport, for 200INR $4AUD, now that we were taxi experts lol. We got to the airport 5 hours in advance so we had to kill time for 2 hours till the airline gate was open.
From here we caught another international flight to Bangkok, and this concluded our India experience. We hope you enjoyed reading about our experiences and take notice of the tips we shared.
THE END.