Mud-slips, rock-slides, long strings of wonderfully colourful (but disgustingly polluting) heavy goods vehicles, freezing temperatures, eighteen feet of snow piled either side of the road in places… the list goes on.  The wind was a bit parky at times too - I could mention that.

Riding pillion behind Rainer the giant (6’8” – is that technically a giant?) on this breath-taking road was one of those things which is going to stay with me for the rest of my life. As hostile as it is beautiful, the whole journey from start to finish was…awe-inspiring.

From the brutal passes of Zoji, Namika and Fotu La, to the almost ethereal settlement of Lamayuru, the apricot terraces of Kargil to the well-documented Moonscapes of Ladakh, every corner was a photo opportunity, every minute a memory.