Chonjor Hotel Leh

... survive - they don't wear boots, just some shoes or slippers, no trousers - only these maroon covers. I just can't get it! 
The young monks are just giving me some curious looks. Then the senior ones propose me to have some "tea" and smile very welcomely. When I step into the praying hall they propose me to have a sit in the second row. It's not possible to take pictures in the prayer hall, so I'll try to explain what is it like. Well, it's a big room - some 40x25 meters, there ...

... it became colder, but in a pretty severe way. When I reached the check post - South Pullu - some Indian tourist was very surprised with me having no hat, and was very kind to give me one - called Monkey Hat (it just took it off the head of the the ladies in the car, which made her surprised as well :). So now equipped with the Monkey Hat, gloves, full helmet, thermic underwear, boots I was going to pass the Khardung La @5.6 km. This would be the highest point for me to visit ...

... Himachal Pradesh and no longer in Jammu &amp; Kashmir) it is actually NOT working. The reason is that someone in Delhi forgot to send the forms to Vodafone so they simply disconnected my subscription. Have to sort that out tomorrow...<br><br>Keep sending those e-mails to me btw! I love to know what you are all up to, but I am afraid I don't always have enough internet time to respond! I read each one of them though of course! <br>

... qui nous invite à venir nous réchauffer dans leur campement. L&#8217;endroit est chauffé au diesel brûlé dans un tuyeau métallique. On nous sert à manger. Ambiance vraiment spéciale ; Imaginez-vous des militaires la peau presque noire du soleil et du vent et neuf porteurs dans une pièce noire illuminée par quelques petites sources de lumière. 17 paires d&#8217;yeux qui nous regardaient manger, nous les martiens&#8230;. Les pupilles de tous ces gens me ...

... crampon, and Jennifer, my right crampon. While climbing up to the first ridge, Phil had to go back to camp after being sick and having an enormous headache. We quite quickly reached high camp (in fact three tents on a scree slope) after this, and ploughed on, over nevees, till we went over a large-ish rise where we saw the masive glacier we were to cross. Did we use our crampons? No, we're real men. We crossed the hidden black ice and frozen river encrusted nevee over the ...

... uksed on aga kinni. Palveveskid on kas veel paigaldamata või ära võetud. Vaade all jõena vonklevale orule on aga suurepärane ja ilmneb, et küla jätkub teisel pool mäge. Saabub prantsuse filmiperekond. Auto ja giidiga. Kui giid kuuleb, et olen näinud munki liikumas, läheb ta neid otsima ja pääseme ka templisse sisse. Osad maalingud on vanad, enamus asja aga uus. Põhitempli laes on diwalilamp.<br>Väljudes põrkan kokku Alexi, Nathani ja nende giidiga. Nathan on ...

... viis korda. Ma ei lase ennast heidutada ja väidan, et kott on kerge.<br>Algus on lihtne. Jõgi on kitsas nire ja üle saab kalpsates. Teen hambapesu-peatuse.<br>Edasi läheb vesi laiemaks. Vool on loomulikult kiire. Ja ongi tee otsas. St siinpool kaldal. Jätkub teisel pool. Jõgi on kusagil põlvini või sügavam. Leian koha, kus keset jõge on kividest moodustunud midagi saaretaolist. Sinnani pääsen hüpates. Edasi aga mitte. Fotokoti viskan kindluse mõttes üle. Seljakotiga kaalun m ...

... flat breads wafting from the clay oven bakeries down dim alleyways; dark-eyed, bearded Muslim men mingling outside the blue and white mosque; traditionally dressed old men and women stooped under the weight of the baskets and bundles on their backs; goods for sale appearing outside shops: traditional stove-pipe hats, sheepskin-lined jackets, woollen shawls; higgledy-piggledy ...

Leaving a disappointing Lamayuru behind, we drove to Alchi. Without question, one of the best villages so far. The Buddhist monastery was quite different than all the other Buddhist monasteries I had visited. Due to the rain, many trekkers were stranded in Alchi as it was immpossible to attempt the Marka Valley and Stok treks.

... hour and a half of charge, but in just around a half<br>hour, the laptop drained the last vestiges of charge from the<br>batteries. I presume the battery is not designed to function at such<br>low temperatures (must have been -2 to -5 degree celcius then). The next morning, we faced our first ordeal. Based on a WHO report, most toilets in Leh are designed to provide for<br>compost. While this sounds quite noble, all it involves is to replace<br>the existing sewage system with a hole ...