u/Dirac_matrices

Hi everyone, I'm in Leh for a 7-day bike trip and would appreciate some advice.

Flew Delhi → Leh yesterday (18 Aug), arriving around 9:30 AM after a very sleep-deprived journey. Developed a 4–5/10 throbbing headache, which got worse at night along with nausea and dizziness. Took Ondem-MD + paracetamol around 3–4 AM and slept.

Today (19 Aug) I feel substantially better. There is no headache or nausea. No breathlessness at all. However, my Noise smartwatch showed SpO₂ around 80%.

I am a little scared due to this. Is 80% a normal reading? Our itinerary as part of a tour group is:
18–19: Leh/rest and acclimatization
20: Leh local sightseeing on bike
21: Khardung La → Nubra
Then Turtuk → Pangong → Leh ending on 25th.
We'll only spend a short time at Khardung La and descend afterward.

Were my symptoms AMS, sleep deprivation/dehydration, or a combination? And if I'm completely symptom-free by the 21st, would you consider the Khardung La ride reasonable?
Thanks!

Hello everyone, me and my friends (all 23M) are planning a bike tour of Leh-Ladakh in August. This is our first ever experience and we would like to visit Hanle as well. For online agencies we were looking at License2roam, Ladakh Endeavour, etc. I saw that a lot of people suggesting not to prebook through travel agencies as they cost more.

We would like to avoid unnecessary expenses without compromising on the experience but we are confused about a lot of things. How do we book through these local operators? Do we arrive on the spot and search there?

Do these local operators cover all the stuff that the online agencies do? Like breakfast, dinner, stays, first aid and oxygen, etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks a lot.

Hello everyone,

I have received an offer to study for a PhD in astrophysics at the University of Cambridge. I will be working on understanding the emergence of life on Earth and other planets outside the solar system. It is a very interesting and impactful research problem, in my opinion. However, my supervisor said it is very unlikely for me to receive internal funding from Cambridge due to recent changes.

I really do not want to miss this opportunity. A majority of students that I met there who were from developing countries had funding support from their government. If anyone from India has done something similar, I would really appreciate your advice on funding support from the national or state government (Maharashtra).

my_qualifications:

Currently working as a research assistant at a government institution specialising in astrophysics;

Master’s degree in Theoretical Physics from the University of Cambridge;

Multiple scholarship awards including the JN Tata Endowment and Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation Scholarship award for my master’s;

Research experience with one research paper on arxiv.

Edit: I belong to the General (Open) category :’)