Leh sits at 11,500 feet and the first day is for nothing. Sleep, water, no exertion. The hotel staff bring oxygen if asked and the chai comes with extra ginger. The rule from the army doctors is two litres before sundown and no shower in the cold.

Shanti Stupa sits on a ridge above Leh. The white Japanese-built peace pagoda finished in 1991. The drive up at gloaming hour catches the Stok Kangri range turning rose; the locals come for the bell and the view rather than for the prayer.

The Khardung La sign says world's highest motorable pass and the army-run tea stall sells black tea for ten rupees. The temperature dropped fifteen degrees on the way up; the descent into Nubra was through sand and apricot orchards. The pass is open seven months a year.

Pangong Lake comes into view through a gap in the brown hills about three kilometres out. The blue is the colour pictures keep missing. The lake is 134 kilometres long and runs two-thirds into Tibet; the Indian side is the western quarter. The wind picks up after two and the surface goes white.