And cute side streets
Also...
- Valley of green! With trees!
- Strings of prayer flags everywhere
- Tightly packed buildings, with continuing Tibetan look, and twisty streets
- Did I mention the temples on the rocky hilltops?
- Whoa, traffic in more than two directions
- Mobile phone reception has returned
- (But there's no internet...)
After detouring through a nearby village, we finally made it into the city of Leh. The traffic seemed busy. One of the staff (in the official orange-colored vest) stood on the roundabout to point the other vehicles in our party toward the proper direction (our SUV had passed all the bikes on the highway by now and we were in the lead now, guiding the way.)
As we threaded through the increasingly smaller roads, Akarsh noted that it was "relatively empty" around town. I had to double check that I had heard him right. The narrow streets seemed packed full of tourists to me! Apparently, May and June is a much busier travel time here (likely due to school vacation.)
The first thing the Europeans did upon reaching the guest house was enlist a local young man with a scooter to go buy beer. They got some Godfather. And we all listened to Reggae.
My Kingdom For Some Internet?
I wanted to update my Facebook status. But there was no internet. Why, you ask? Well, I found out. The day after tomorrow is Independence Day, which apparently not everyone up here is particularly patriotic about. So there is a complete internet blackout. (It is kind of weird that they can do that, to be honest.) At least there is mobile phone service so I was able to text - or SMS, as they prefer to say in India - that worried friend in Delhi, passing along the message that I had made it alive and well. I did not mention the slippery, muddy roads.
Around "Backpacker's Street"
Dinner Tonight
As evening fell, we all walked from the guest houses to what Vivi called "Backpacker's Street" a lovely narrow, S-shaped street full of little shops, hostels, and (currently empty) internet cafes. Lots of cute stores selling jewelry and T-shirts with just a little bit of sidewalk (better than none at all) to squeeze on. You still had to occasionally dive out of the way of a passing vehicle or motorcycle, but it was pretty quiet otherwise. (I returned during the day and got this one shot of the neighborhood.)
A restaurant nearby was able to accommodate all 25 or so of us at one super-long table in the upstairs room. We challenged them by ordering quite a variety from their large multi-cuisine menu which included pizza. I had their Tibetan specialty of "handmade noodles" with tofu which was pretty tasty, though the folks around me and I seemed to all prefer the dish of the person sitting clockwise.
Somehow, we managed to find our way back through the confusing streets after night fell and our stomachs were full (though not with alcohol, as none was served at the restaurant).
The next day, it was raining. The precipitation did not last long and did not really cause inconvenience. But still...
Today, I managed to do exactly what I wanted to do without one bit of planning.
I'm not just talking about sleeping in past 8am, which I did mind you, but visiting some of the incredible structures I spotted on our drive in.
Breakfast (in town) was awesome. A solid half of the menu listed different hard-to-choose-from delicious choices like the North Indian Breakfast, the American Breakfast, the Energy Breakfast, and the Cheese Breakfast. I appreciate restaurants that are serious about their breakfast. The place did pretty well for the 15 or so of us there. It was while we were munching on the cheese-fest (all the breakfasts included SOME cheese) that the plan for the day came together with little effort on my part except raising my hand and saying, "sure, I'm up for that." Splendidly easy.
The first nifty thing we did was take off our shoes (that wasn't the nifty part) and sit in on a chanting ceremony with six or so monks.
The dark room had the smell of incense and every so often, they rang the gong. We sat along the side and listened peacefully for some time.
Afterward we wandered up some stairs (pant, pant) and paid a visit to Buddha. Up here on the second floor, we were even with his face. I never would have guessed by the outside doorway that the Buddha was in here. I'm glad someone was pointing the way.
You could give a donation if you wanted, but as I recall, the place was free to enter.
Stupas (...and check out those rain clouds.)
Hello up there!
Hello down there!
Even though the palace surrounding the monastery was in ruins, you could still climb pretty high. Safety railings? Ha!
To be honest, every time I saw someone waving at me from somewhere higher, I say "Hey, how did you get up there?" then find the way up too. Curiosity overcoming altitude, we eventually found the mostly-not-ruined stone stairway up. After admiring the view, you could keep going up higher if you wanted, to the next ruined part. If you really wanted to...
Up and up and up...
Yeah, I didn't really want to.
The views back down were stunning, even from my not-as-high vantage point. You could really see almost a line where the green ended and the brown began.
View from the Second Highest Point
Still Not Tibet
Second: Thiksey Monastery
Revised Advice
Thiksey (also spelled Thikse and Thiksay) was about the coolest monastery I have ever been to. Some of the others referred to it as Tiger's Nest, referencing the incredible monastery in Bhutan that puts even this awesomeness to shame. Upon entering, there is a sign offering a list of "Advice" (not "Rules") but someone cleverly crossed out a word in one of the items, so it reads now, "Please do not offer money, gifts, or other items to any of the monks during your visit. If you wish to make a donation, please contact the monastery office."
Thiksey Monastery
Back and Front
Running Amonk
Hello up there!
Hello down there!
The buildings of the monastery were very colorful and kept up. I saw lots of foreign tourists and the occasional red-robed monk wandering the premises.
Thiksey is maybe a five-minute drive from Shey Palace and in fact, you could see Shey from the top if you looked closely.
(Or if you follow the big, red arrow)
We seemed to not pick the best time of day to arrive as no ceremonies were going on, but we were trying to see a lot in one day so maybe it was all for the best. There was a gift shop here where you could buy prayer flags of all sizes, framed quotes of the Dalai Lama, journals, books, T-shirts, and wall hangings. I got myself a wall hanging.
At least one of our party other than me was finally feeling the altitude and had to rest. Indeed, there were a lot of stairs in this place, though I was gradually getting less out of breath when climbing them.
The motto here should be "Leh: For When You Can't Go to Tibet"
Climbing all the stairs, even above 12,000ft, is indeed worth it for the view, in case there was any question. Check it out:
Views from the roof where you can really see the Line of Green around Leh
Not Tib... yeah, you get it.
Stupa Painter
Third: Stok Palace
The final stop on our self-guided tour was on the other side of town: Stok Palace, the residence of the former royal family.
Stok Palace
(Instead of that other kind of parking?)
When we arrived, a few ragged-looking boys approached our group in the (vehicle) parking lot and asked for chocolate.
Hmmm.
That seemed like too much of a coincidence. I am starting to have the suspicion that there is a word in the Ladakhi language that sounds like "chocolate" but actually means something else, like "money". Because why would these random kids also have a sweet tooth, like the two little girls on the way to Tsomoriri?
In any case, I had no chocolate left, even if that was what they wanted. And I don't generally give beggar children money. They left empty handed.
Stok Footage
We decided it was time for some tea, snacks, and relaxing a bit. We took a seat while Rob ordered up some chai, coffee, and something I'll describe as sweet, fried dough balls with maple syrup dip. Can't go wrong there.
Also Time for a Smartphone Music-Sharing Break
We decided to visit Stok Museum since we were here. Good timing, too. Because it suddenly started raining.
I'm not kidding.
The signs said "Silence" and we had to remove our shoes. So we did, speaking in whispers. But overall, we were not particularly impressed with the museum. It kind of looked like someone found a bunch of historical-looking jewelry, tools, artifacts, and garments in the palace, took a guess as to what they were, labeled them, and put them in display boxes with dim lighting. There were few dates, little information, and pretty much no context at all. (I think there was a skull that was labeled "Skull".)
But it only cost 50 rupees (about a buck) and it worked as a place to wait out the rain, which was letting up by the time we left.
"Quick, take a photo before it starts
raining again."
"Life Ends Here"
Upon our return, I headed out into town to do a little wandering. I could tell immediately as I started walking the determined-not-to-be-in-a-grid streets that I could easily get lost. I memorized landmarks like mad. Fortunately, our guest house was near the Police Station so if all else failed, I could ask for directions to that, though then it would sound like I was in trouble or something.
Out of the backpacker neighborhood, I definitely stood out a bit more. More locals (and more people in general) crowded the narrow sidewalks, though there were still a fair amount of tourists patronizing the jewelry shops, gift shops, bookstores, sweet shops, clothing stores, and the occasional person on the street selling vegetables.
They also have Paintball
I walked into one of the first shops I saw (before I realized that every shopkeeper on the street would look at me and start a conversation with, "Hi, where are you from?") and checked out their selection. Initially I thought it was a little weird that the lights were out inside their shop. Kind of creepy? They turned on a lantern pretty quick, though. Were they trying to save money? Several minutes later, I understood. The power came back on.
Wandering Around Leh
While I was chatting with him, he told me that "Leh" stands for "Life Ends Here." I could not determine from his tone whether he meant it as positive, negative, or just plain morbid.
I managed to find my way back, only turning around once. Generally, I found Leh to be a fairly pleasant, safe place to walk around in, but that may be because I'm used to Delhi.
Our Guest Houses
We had such a large party, we had to split up. The two main guest houses we occupied were Naaz and Rainbow Guest House, just an alley (a dark, somewhat spooky, donkey-filled alley) away from each other. I was in Rainbow.
Naaz Guest House
Rainbow Guest House
What I liked about Rainbow: We had a room with a nice bathroom, a toilet with a built-in bidet, and hot water, at least for part of the time. I took a very nice hot shower here. Also, the staff kindly split the double beds into two separate twin beds and were generally responsive to any request whether it was for toilet paper, coffee, or a spare key (that they may or may not actually have.) Also, there was a light switch by the bed, what a concept.
What I did not like about Rainbow: The sheets were only "India clean". I don't assign this term unless I actually spot a hair that is not mine near the pillow. Most hotels I've stayed at in India, I see the hair. Not surprising, but not confidence inspiring. I've pretty much used my own pillowcase for the entire trip. They did not provide towels until I asked and, not really their fault, the one they provided was slightly damp due to the rain. The door was a bit of an effort to open, close, and lock. Also not their fault the electricity was very sporadic.
Only Non-Veg For Us!
For dinner, we took over the Rainbow's seating area. Although we ordered some appetizers from the staff, we opted to get some regular North-Indian-style chicken takeout from a restaurant in town, which I think the owner perhaps was not so pleased about based on a loud comment someone translated. Also, iPods were listened to. Beer was consumed.
It's Hard To Find a Table For 25...
♫ ♩ "Babaji, I love you" ♩ ♪
The Naaz balcony was a post-dinner hang-out spot. I spent time talking to the one guest of Naaz not part of our tour, but who had been part of a similar I Am Adventure tour in June. He was one of the crazy people who had done the trip in the snow. The mind continues to boggle at such a concept.
Soundtrack for the night:
I've been a little stuffed up and sneezy the past few nights, nothing bad. It has sort of been taking me a little while to fall asleep every night. Not tonight, though. I actually fell asleep mid-conversation!
Tomorrow, we take a two-day side trip, up over the highest peak yet...
