LEH 3500 mt / 11500 ft.

We reached leh at 6 am....the air was crisp and it was a beautiful morning.....while we were waiting for our baggage we saw some socks on the conveyor belt....different colors and all rolled up...they were scattered randomly on the conveyor belt...i was wondering who the owner was when a sweet looking firang gal pushed her way ahead and started collecting them......and she was continuously issuing a solid stream of unprintable explecitives while picking them up.....i had a good laugh and wondered who she was....
then we went outside and were waiting at our pick up spot for the other members to assemble.....we met and introduced ourselves to bala, salim, justin, sonia......and just imagine my shock and surprise when the same firang gal asks us if we r going to himalayas....they didnt know where they were going and nearly joined the rafting expidition .....that was the intro of rachel and charolette....we went to hotel kang la chen in leh...it was a nice place with an old world charm....well maintained gardens and flower beds....nice rooms and sumptuous food.....here we had breakfast and met our guide pankaj and got formally introduced to each other.....nationality, profession , age etc....
so here we were
myself, samir kumtha & sanjay garude- docs frm mumbai.....salim - businessman from mumbai, bala - mysteriuos multitasking person from kodaikanal....farmer, enterpreuner, cheesemaker and a lotta other things, justin & sonia - from london , rachel and charolette - two welsh students. we were subesquently joined by olov - a health freak swede working in china and currently posted in delhi. this was as diverse as it can get.....a moteley mix of people......
and then...and then we had our first momentous "briefing" by pankaj....pankaj was always particular about his briefings and would tell us only on need to know basis.....nothing more nothing less....and the briefings were a daily routine during the trek.......