Ladakh expedition on a rickshaw

A rickshaw 'walla' has set out on a daring 3,000-km expedition from Kolkata to the famous Khardung La pass in Ladakh, which has one of the world's highest motorable road.
Forty-year-old Satyen Das, who ferries commuters at Naktala in south Kolkata, marshalled his personal savings and generous donations from local people, packed his luggage under the passenger's seat of his refurbished rickshaw and started on his one-of-a-kind journey last month.
"I make a living on my rickshaw and spend my whole day with this, so I could not leave it behind when I started to dream about my trip to Ladakh," Das told PTI.

He has already reached Uttar Pradesh from where he will go to Srinagar and reach Ladakh after crossing Kargil next month.
"I want to spread the message of world peace with this journey and also I want to promote rickshaw as a cheap and eco-friendly mode of transport," he said.
Expecting to complete the expedition within five months, he is also eyeing an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records for his feat.

Bitten by travel bug, Das way back in 2008 had gone all the way to Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh in a rickshaw with his wife and daughter. But this time the target is higher and he is travelling alone.

At an elevation of 17,582 feet, Khardung La pass offers stunning views of the magnificent Himalayas.
The adventurer's biggest challenge would be the rough mountainous terrain where he would have to get down from the rickshaw and pull it through.
"He has this addiction of travelling in the Himalayas and going to far-off places. And going to Khardung La in rickshaw would be just unbelievable," said Partho Dey, secretary of Naktala Agrani Club, who helped him with funds.