Tso and La.... a must read for travellers. Review on Tso and La - Vikramjit Rai

I am not much into reading books. but when I read books, I make sure that they are about travelling. Not completely but atleast they should have the essence of travel in it. I love to travel, but due to obvious reasons my mom doesn't allow me to travel on my own. So I complete this dream by reading travel books, blogs, articles.

How many of you have watched Jab Tak Hai Jaan? I am sure most of us.The beautiful picturesque of ladakh in the movie, I cant even find the right words to describe the beauty of Ladakh. Its my dream to visit there and I will visit definitely in my life :)

So, here I read this book Tso and La by Vikramjit Ram. As the caption of the book 'A journey in Ladakh' says it all.Vikramjit Ram is invited by his friend Manoj Bawa on a drive to Ladakh. It is the start of the Himalayas summer of 2009, the high mountain passes have just opened for the season. Vikramjit Ram finds a quirky companion in his friend Manoj and the other worldly beauty of Shangri La as the perfect fix for his jaded senses that brought his attempt at fiction to a halt.He gave a break to his fiction and doomed into write his journey. The title of the book means from the Ladakhi words for lake and pass.

The journey started from Bangalore and the author beautifully describes his way towards Ladakh. From the things to carry, to the way, every single place and every single scene is so beautifully told making it a complete travel book and also keeping it light. The conversation between Vikram and Manoj is hilarious and you remember the dialogues for a long time. One liners by Manoj are simply awesome.The author tries to narrate everything about trips yet keeping it simple. It is fantastic and simple read. Vikranjit's description about people is amazing.

By far, this is the best travelogue I have ever read. Though there are few pictures in it, adding more pictures would have made it simply superb.Weaving together elements of art and architecture, natural history and biography, Tso and La is a tribute to this enigmatic corner of India. Against a backdrop of uncontainable granduer, Manoj and Vikram find prayer flags and child-monks, magpies and wild asses. After traveling for four weeks and travel ling 8, 200 kms, they return to their normal lives. One finds a new job and other embarks on a journey of new words.Its a awesome book and must read for all the traveling freaks :P