Need to Know the Facts of Ladakh
Health & Safety
Ladakh Travel Packages - The high altitude in Ladakh makes it potentially dangerous for those who have not taken time to acclimatise to the rarefied air. Mountain sickness/high altitude sickness can be a killer, so take the time to get conditioned to the heights. It usually occurs at heights above 3000m and symptoms include breathlessness, nausea, headaches and dizziness - Travel Packages of Ladakh.
India Travel Packages - In such cases, immediate treatment and evacuation to the plains is required. The SNM Hospital in Leh is equipped to deal with such cases - Travel Packages of India.
Safety
Basic precautions:
Keep your money and travel documents close to your body (perhaps in a pouch slung around your neck, tucked out of sight under your shirt),
Keep several photocopies of your passport, insurance, travellers’ cheques etc. scattered through your luggage,
Do not use a waist pouch, it may as well be a transparent plastic bag: it’s that fragile and that obvious!
Do not put all your money in one place.
Be extremely alert in the dark. One of the things that protect travellers to India is the vast crowds in any place. The multitudes however, disappear into their homes at night, and you go from having a huge thick safety quilt to a flimsy sheet! Try your best to be in a familiar area when it gets dark. If you are not, at least know how you can get to that area from wherever it is that you happen to be.
Many women travellers wear the long tunic and loose pyjama dress of Indian women called the salwar-kameez and find that it substantially dissuades unwanted male attention.
If you are travelling alone, do not advertise it.
If you lose your passport lodge, a First Information Report at the local police station and contact your embassy.
Weights and Measures
India Travel Packages - India uses the Metric system where 100cm=1meter; 1000meters=1km, liquids are measured in litres and solids in kilograms - Travel Packages of India.
Electricity
220 volts, 50 hertz is the frequency at which electricity is available WHEN it is!
Customs & Duties
If you are above 17 years you may import the following in without attracting duty:
200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 grams of tobacco, a litre of alcoholic drink, 250 ml perfume, gifts up to a value of Rupees 750 (foreign passport holders), gifts up to a value of Rupees 6000 (Indian passport holders) and articles of personal use.It is illegal to bring in drugs, gold and silver bullion, plants and coins that have gone out of use.
Post & Communications
Both Leh and Kargil have ISD, direct dialling telephone facility providing access to the world. Leh and Kargil also have a GPO (General Post Office) and a Central Telegraph Office. The J&K Tourism Department operates a wireless radiophone network connecting field stations with its offices at Leh, Kargil and Padum and its regional offices in Delhi, Jammu and Srinagar. The field stations also have access via mobile phones to remote locations where tourists travel in peak season. Which is why it is a good idea to keep them informed about trek itineraries and expeditions into the more remote regions of Ladakh.
Tipping
Tipping is not welcomed by everyone in Ladakh - it is a concept that is alien to Ladakhis and can cause offence, so avoid tipping. If the service charge has been added onto the bill in restaurants and hotels, no further gratuity is necessary as some establishments pool the tips and distribute evenly amongst their staff.
English Language Media
No matter where you are in India it is never going to be difficult to find an English language newspaper. All the major dailies, and there are many in this country where the fourth estate is startlingly independent and strong, have multiple editions with at least one from every region and one on the net. All major English national dailies have a regional edition and weekly newsmagazines are available at vendors and bookshops in Ladakh. The arrival of Cable TV has brought BBC World Service, CNN, ESPN, Star Sports, Star News, Star Plus and a plethora of cable channels to viewers in Ladakh.
The more widely accessible national channel too has some English programmes, and a daily English news segment. BBC World Service and Voice of America are on the MHz bandwidth but the frequency varies.
Recommended Reading
Crafts of Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh by Jaya Jaitley.
Leh and Trekking in Ladakh by Charlie Thoram.
Ladakh: Crossroads of High Asia by Janet Rizvi.
Kashmir, Ladakh and Zanskar by Rolf Schettler.
