Gulfam Hotel Srinagar

... I decline even though the honey is good. I'm not about to lug it around for 5 months in my backpack.
We leave and Bashir asks me to help him paddle. I'm surprised by this but join in now and again. The lake has abundant flora and fauna - Lotus leaves, Lillie's, small fish, ducks, geese, dragonflies, small irritating flies (which settle on me and the boat), ravens/eagles flying above and other water based birds I don't know the ...

... 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 ...

... right?

Well the flight was nice. lol.

A car came and picked us up from the airport. The weather was perfect, a tiny bit chiller than an average Bay Area summer day. Yet rather than a boathouse on the lake as the tour had promised, we were taken to a cottage (quite a great distance from the lake). The guide mentioned that being away from the lake would mean no mosquitoes, and while this was certainly true, it was slightly disappointing, but true ...

... 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.
Väljudes põrkan kokku Alexi, Nathani ja nende giidiga. Nathan on ...

... Näeme ära interneti kaudu kuulsakspildistatud Induse ja Zanskari jõgede ühinemiskoha.
Teed on siinkandis yldiselt head, asfaldiga ja piisavalt laiad kahele autole.

Õhtuks jõuame Alchisse, leiame armsa öömaja, kus tubadesse pääseb katuseterassilt. Õhtuse päikese valguses teeme veel ka tiiru ümber templi. Leian üles tee alla jõe äärde läbi väikse puudesalu. Koht oleks eriti ilus, kui keegi poleks siia koormat prügi toonud... Ladakh on muidu puhtam kui muu ...

... nds in fl*mes of conflicting loy*lities. When I l*st visited the *re* in the 90`s, crossing the K*r*kor*m P*ss on the old Silk Route from Chin* westw*rd I crossed the P*mirs *nd entered the province of Gilgit in P*rkist*n. Look *t *n Indi*n m*p now*d*ys *nd it will indic*te th*t the *re* is Indi*n property. In f*ct the region is cl*imed by 3 powerful n*tions with the K*shmiri popul*tion *cting *s * p*wn in * f*r bigger g*me.

I *m the only Westerner on the pl*ne. A white wom*n ...

... en geen brood) gaf. Ze heeft ons ook nog een soort hoofddoek laten zien die de vrouwen om doen als ze naar een ander dorp gaan. De meerderheid van de bevolking is hier namelijk moslim. Wij mochten de hoofddoek ook proberen en daar hebben we foto's van. Hun kinderen zijn ook leuk, ze hebben twee zoontjes en een dochtertje. Zij liep vaak met ons mee en dan pakte ze steeds mijn hand vast, zo schattig. Na deze gezellige ...

... rock, with what seemed to be their grandparents. They enjoyed hanging around the camp and they were always keen to find collect and crack walnuts to share. Walnuts where abundant and a great snack at anytime as you could collect a handful to eat without too ...

... vehicle came in our direction. Walking at altitude, in the midday heat, when you're sick, dehydrated, haven't eaten and are ducking behind bushes every half-hour whilst rationing half a litre of water is not the smartest plan. Our next ride was in an army jeep - they were bound for Leh but said they must drop us in Khalsi (halfway) because they were not supposed to give lifts to foreigners. The sergeant asked us lots of questions about where we'd been in India, and how long we'd ...