Spic n Span Hotel Leh

... this is the end of the free ride - a permit is required to proceed further. The distance is not that big, and they say there are no mountains on the road - it just going along Indus river. Hope it will be a nice day trip. 
I hope I'll be able to join a group to go with a jeep to Nubra Valley on the day after tomorrow, which is supposed to be magnificent. It supposed to be some 3 day long. 
Right after that I think I ...

Petits esprits tordus, chassez ces impures images !<br><br>Le titre de la chronique refere, bien'sur, au trek de 5 jours au coeur des monts Zanskar, que nous nous sommes offert pour celebrer notre premier anniversaire de couple (thanks to Gulien et pour Kelly Joe Phelps), et duquel nous revenons tout juste, tout sales, fatigues, mais tellement heureux !<br><br>Alors, pour mon initiation au trek dans les Himalayas, Ampouane nous a deniche une formule de compromis fort agreable, soit ...

Sonam brings us to the bus station. Bus is not there and no idea when it will arrive. So last minute shopping for toast bread and eggs, which need special packing.<br><br>The local bus drops us off in Phyang, 50 min from Leh. Cost is 15 rupees per person (about CH 0.25).<br><br>Meet with our horseman Doordje who is not going to come with us after all. He introduces us to Sirin, a ...

... we would have to carry heavy loads at altitude. It was good to run into Australian Beccles and Tim who had just climbed the difficult Stok Kangri mountain and who provided inspiration for our own trek.<br><br>We had made it to Leh just in time for the "Ladakh Confluence" music festival which was set on the banks of the Indus River, surrounded by mountains and celebrated music, art, heritage, culture and nature. Despite some bad organisation there was ...

... and dejected we eventually found a hotel, probably the best of our trip so far, and after getting some much needed food it was off to sleep! leh itself is a spectacular little town and a magnet for tourists intent on trekking in the surrounding ranges. unfortunately we didn't give ourselves enough time here to get involved in any treks but we contented ourselves in hiking to some temples and a palace in the immediate viccinity of the town. the palace is a nine story building that is ...

... nju. Pulm ise pole päris pulm, v*id pulm* kordusetendus *bielup**ri esimese l*pse sünni puhul. N*ine läheb selleks puhuks is*koju t*g*si j* tuu*kse se*lt uuesti pere ühisesse koju. Pulmi fin*ntseeriv*d mõlem* poole sugul*sed ühiselt, ehk siis on L*d*khis *biellumine n*ise perele od*v*m lõbu kui muj*l Indi*s.<br>S*njut ood*tes räägib reisibüroo kolm*s om*nik Sunny om* õpingutest. Ted* huvit*b *j*lugu, *lguses õppis t* sed*, *g* v*het*s siis "te*duse" v*stu. Nii ...

... meeles. Ilmselgelt mitte, sest läheb lahti jutt sellest, et tempel on kinni ja Wasim sellest templist midagi ei rääkinud jne. Auto nina saab ringi keeratud pärast minupoolset ähvardust, et lahkun autost ja nad võivad ilma minuta edasi sõita. Endal on päris naljakas olla paha klient.<br>Tempel on väike ja armas, ainult millegipärast on tihedalt selle ette ehitatud miskine angaar. Maalingud on uued ja palveveskid pärit 1980. aastast, puitnikerdused näevad vanad välja. Kui ...

... otsem. Tegelt vist ei ole. Aga kohale jõuan. Turistide tarbeks on iga templi ja kloostrini ehitatud autotee, aga vanad jalakäimarajad on õnneks säilinud. Autotee on nimelt serpentiini võrra hulga pikem. Kohalikud aga ilmselt selle mäest üles-alla kalpsamise tõttu ongi kuni kõrge vanuseni hämmastavalt heas vormis ja suudavad tundide kaupa ristisjalu istuda.<br>Gompa on altvaadates tõeliselt imposantne ehitis, meenutab Thikset. Esimene koht, kuhu ...

... long, we had the first problem crossing the Rohtang pass at 3,978 meters, with our tyres.Spectacular scenery on the way,we were happy to continue the adventureous journey,but past Keylong there was another problem at higher altitudes;one of the petrol trucks drove off the mountain road, and blocked the highway, all traffic stopped in both directions,and they had to call the military for help.After 4 hours, the road was finally cleared.We drove for a ...

... sucking up the air for a<br>final thrust to get the plane off the ground. And suddenly, the nose of<br>the plane rose and we were airborne. Darkness still ruled, and as the plane cruised over Delhi, I played<br>connect-the-dots with the innumerable lights flickering below. Ribbons<br>of gold crisscrossed the city, as the streetlights shone bright along<br>the major roads, their work for the night not done yet. I could spy<br>lights moving along the paths traced by these streetlights ...