We planned to have an easy first day in Leh. Our first job was to hand our laundry in. There are numerous cheap places to get this done in Leh, which makes me very happy. Then we headed into the centre of town and visited a German bakery that was highly recommended on google maps. We either got the wrong bakery or it had changed hands as we were served one of the most disgusting breakfasts I have ever had. The fried potatoes were a bright orange colour.

After that inauspicious start we decided to sort out our phones. SIM cards that work in the rest of India are not operational in Leh – it seems that this is due to a combination of security concerns and network issues. We were initially happy to rely on wifi but soon realised that we had become completely dependent on google maps. Downloading a map of Leh helped, but it was just not the same as seeing that little blue dot moving on a live map. To sate our desire for 24 hour connectivity we made the unwise decision to head out of town to a shop that the Lonely planet promised would provide us with operational SIM cards. We caught a dusty bus and then walked back and forth a few times along a dusty street before managing to pinpoint the office by asking advice from several people (old school travelling technique).

The two staff at the desk in the phone office seemed bored senseless. We waited in a queue for a while. When we made our request they looked wary. They attempted to connect us but the response from the computer was that our passports were out of date. This was clearly not true as we had them on the desk in front of us. The staff apologised and we prepared to leave as the manager arrived. He was talking to somebody higher up the chain about the issue. He seemed agitated and it seemed to be an ongoing issue with their systems.

For some reason, probably partly related to slight altitude sickness and an associated lack of logical thinking we decided to walk through the clouds of dust back into town. Normally I would have enjoyed the route through the local market, but I had a hacking cough and was feeling breathless.

Back in the town centre we collapsed into a friendly looking cafe and I ordered some sea buckthorn juice. This is produced locally and apparently has numerous health giving properties. I felt that I needed all the help I could get. Tim revived quicker than me. He logged onto the cafe wifi and found a chat group that identified an Airtel shop only five minutes away which promised the nirvana of mobile connectivity we were seeking. I said he was welcome to investigate but I wasn’t going anywhere. I ordered another sea buckthorn juice, a decision that would prove fatal.

Tim was gone a long time. A very long time. He later told me it was only about three quarters of an hour. I needed a wee, but the cafe didn’t have one. I didn’t want to leave in case Tim came back as I had no way of contacting him. I tried to use WhatsApp through the wifi but my phone wouldn’t connect with his. We had not thought to arrange a meeting point and time like we would have done in the old days. We had become too addicted to our phones to make this sort of provision.

Eventually Tim rang and said that he had been drowning in a sea of young Israelis who were all more assertive than him and even more addicted to their phones than we were, having never known a life without them. He had finally managed to make eye contact with one of the long suffering members of staff and was close to getting his phone connected to the network. I warned him that I was feeling very grumpy. I may have sworn at him. But I agreed to meet him at the Airtel office. His directions were vague (Tim disputes this point) and I wandered around aimlessly, wondering if I was going to wet myself. I was eventually forced into the old school ‘talk to a complete stranger’ method of navigation which succeeded in getting me to the right location.

When Tim spotted me he immediately recognised the signs of impending hysteria I was displaying. He made an arrangement to return and finish his phone deal the next day. My tiny guilty moment was swiftly overridden by my urgent need for a toilet. We headed for another cafe with washroom facilities. They weren’t great but I didn’t care.

Tim and I consoled ourselves with large slices of cake and agreed that we would revisit the Airtel office together the next day. Then we headed back to our hotel for a sleep. Sometimes that’s just how a day’s travelling goes….