ATM, Mountain gear, Hospital etc in Leh

Kaizer Soze · Aug 25th, 2009, 14:26

What options are available in Leh for
1. Money: ATM, Pay by Credit etc - How much cash do people carry with them? How safe is it if traveling by road across Manali to Leh?

2. Renting winter jackets, trekking gear, sleeping bags
3. First Aid, Hospitals - How good, how expensive are the facilities etc?

Thanks in Advance

vzzzbx · Aug 25th, 2009, 16:48

1. there are (at least 2) atm machines in leh. i don't know how widely accepted credit cards are in leh, maybe not so much

2. this is all possible in leh.

3. i don't know.

vistet · Aug 26th, 2009, 01:57

ATM : http://korta.nu/cleh
Never bothered to look up the other one.

I´ve bought a nice sleeping bag in Leh , and there are some amazing Army bags in circulation. No idea about renting scene. Bring a liner : you´ll be lucky if the bag has been washed.

Supposedly there is a pressure chamber in the Army hospital , should be oxygen generators as well (see my post from Pang in my blog below ) . Leh hospital was very basic when I went there , but that was many years ago. This year I met in my guest house a girl who went to the hospital and got oxygen and steroids for a day. The price range for medication & treatment is in the Rs. 0-0 price range : I first thought it was honoured guest/fellow health care courtesy when I wasn´t allowed to pay in Leh , but this is a post-colonial quirk : Ladakh , Lahaul & Spiti are considered as "tribal areas" where basic health care is provided free. It was for example impossible this year to find a place in Keylong that sold basic headache pills (which I take as DVT preventive on travel days after being acclimatised) , it required that someone went to the clinic for me, free of charge. In Leh with thousands of tourists there is also a market for selling what the locals can have for free , try the side street going down from the post office, right hand side.

If you have manageable degrees of altitude sickness in Leh you can medicate (check out the sulfa allergy angle with a doc first, take your first dose in Leh) and try going down to Alchi (3100).

Kaizer Soze · Aug 26th, 2009, 19:42

Thanks VzzzBx and Vistet - much appreciated.

On another note, WOW that travelers from Netherlands and Sweden are advising on a remote Indian hangout :-).
Vistet - I have read a lot of your posts and they are excellent. Do you stay in Sweden at all or are a resident/expert in Leh. Have they given you a local permit yet :-).

Gotta love globalization ....

vistet · Aug 26th, 2009, 19:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaizer Soze

Have they given you a local permit yet :-).

No , but on TT I´ve been accused of being a tout for the HRTC buses...

pip · Sep 11th, 2009, 09:11

Will never listen to you again, then! ;-)

Last year my GH guy was so upset at his guests not being able to withdraw money from the main square ATM he took a pic of a giant queue there and was going to give the authorities a piece of his mind..so it can be a problem...The other ATM is up a little from the taxi stand and on the opposite side of the road - pretty basic but works just fine and way less people.

If you use the main ATM, watch out for locals slipping in front of you; I shamed a few of them when they did it to me, was great fun. Even Leh is not immune from impatience...

great news about health care, thanks for that.

Aug 25th, 2009, 14:26	#1
Kaizer Soze KaizerSoze Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 10	ATM, Mountain gear, Hospital etc in Leh What options are available in Leh for 1. Money: ATM, Pay by Credit etc - How much cash do people carry with them? How safe is it if traveling by road across Manali to Leh? 2. Renting winter jackets, trekking gear, sleeping bags 3. First Aid, Hospitals - How good, how expensive are the facilities etc? Thanks in Advance

Aug 26th, 2009, 01:57	#3
vistet Maha Guru Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Umeå , Sweden Posts: 2,260	ATM : http://korta.nu/cleh Never bothered to look up the other one. I´ve bought a nice sleeping bag in Leh , and there are some amazing Army bags in circulation. No idea about renting scene. Bring a liner : you´ll be lucky if the bag has been washed. Supposedly there is a pressure chamber in the Army hospital , should be oxygen generators as well (see my post from Pang in my blog below ) . Leh hospital was very basic when I went there , but that was many years ago. This year I met in my guest house a girl who went to the hospital and got oxygen and steroids for a day. The price range for medication & treatment is in the Rs. 0-0 price range : I first thought it was honoured guest/fellow health care courtesy when I wasn´t allowed to pay in Leh , but this is a post-colonial quirk : Ladakh , Lahaul & Spiti are considered as "tribal areas" where basic health care is provided free. It was for example impossible this year to find a place in Keylong that sold basic headache pills (which I take as DVT preventive on travel days after being acclimatised) , it required that someone went to the clinic for me, free of charge. In Leh with thousands of tourists there is also a market for selling what the locals can have for free , try the side street going down from the post office, right hand side. If you have manageable degrees of altitude sickness in Leh you can medicate (check out the sulfa allergy angle with a doc first, take your first dose in Leh) and try going down to Alchi (3100). __________________ high road to ..

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Aug 25th, 2009, 16:48	#2
vzzzbx Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 70	1. there are (at least 2) atm machines in leh. i don't know how widely accepted credit cards are in leh, maybe not so much 2. this is all possible in leh. 3. i don't know.

Aug 26th, 2009, 19:42	#4
Kaizer Soze KaizerSoze Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 10	Thanks VzzzBx and Vistet - much appreciated. On another note, WOW that travelers from Netherlands and Sweden are advising on a remote Indian hangout :-). Vistet - I have read a lot of your posts and they are excellent. Do you stay in Sweden at all or are a resident/expert in Leh. Have they given you a local permit yet :-). Gotta love globalization ....

Sep 11th, 2009, 09:11	#6
pip Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: canberra australia Posts: 41	Will never listen to you again, then! ;-) Last year my GH guy was so upset at his guests not being able to withdraw money from the main square ATM he took a pic of a giant queue there and was going to give the authorities a piece of his mind..so it can be a problem...The other ATM is up a little from the taxi stand and on the opposite side of the road - pretty basic but works just fine and way less people. If you use the main ATM, watch out for locals slipping in front of you; I shamed a few of them when they did it to me, was great fun. Even Leh is not immune from impatience... great news about health care, thanks for that.