The Kanglachan Leh

... some four pillars holding the cellar, these are decorated colorfully with some sort of banners. One of the walls is a kind of alter, I guess. It is covered with all different images of Buddha (i think:). A big portrait of Dalai Lama is hung there as well. Some blinking lights are attached all around - honestly these look pathetic. The monks are sitting in symmetric rows, facing the center of the room. There is a principal who sits closer to the alter and conducts the process. There are ...

... The serpentine started to become more casual and less asphalted from one hand and more perilous from the other. Needless to mention that it was all remarkably beautiful around. The mountains I was approaching, the valley I was leaving, the perspective that was opening. There were road-stones every kilometer - there were some 10 left, but the progress was very sluggish. I also was fighting all the time with the klatch of the Vespa - the gear wasn't really in perfect condition.
Nubra Valley, Jammu and Kashmir, India maxint

5:30 am. Morning prayer from the Sunni Mosque wakes me up. 3 min later the competing Shiite Mosque starts as well. Not a bad way to wake up, as long as your guesthouse is not an immediate neighbor of either one...

It is 6 :15 am now and I am writing this from my strategic bed position. If I move my head to my left, through our bay windows, I can see the first morning light blissfully illuminating ...

... au campement principale où on donne la « white house » une cabane où nous allons passer notre première nuit à 5000m. Deux planches, deux matelas militaires et deux personnes bien fatiguées. Je n’ai encore jamais été aussi reconnaissante d’avoir un sac de couchage, croyez-moi.

Après une nuit un peu reposante, nous nous levons à 6h pour être prêt à 7h comme le sergeant nous l’avait demandé. La matin s’annonce bien, nos corps ...

... her name) since he decided she had to be used some time. I believe at the end of this slope, Freddie got really bad breathing problems, and had to return. We later found out Chiring, our amazing helper, had told him they would sleep on the glacier, a very cold business, until 7, in case others dropped out as well. They slept an hour, interrupted occasionally by headtorch wielding climbers bewildered at seing two heads looking up out of the glacier.
Anyway, we climbed this ...

... uued kingad. Vahetame muljeid ja tsillime pikalt templirõdul. Hakkan juba lahkuma, kui giid juhatab meile veel kätte mingi amfiteatrilaadse koha. Vaade nii keskele kui ka ümberringi on hea. Etendub palvelippude tants. Kui oleme seal mõnda aega lebotanud, sammub üle keskpõranda ei keegi muu kui norrakas. Ta tegi eelmise päeva raske koti tõttu lühema tee kaudu ja leidis Hemises üles kuut keelt rääkiva Namgaili Toro külalistemaja. Ameeriklased lahkuvad ja saabuvad ...

... hetke. Pole kindel, kas see üle jõuab. Otsustan, et kui mina koos kotiga korraks vette ninali kukun, ei ole see siiski nii hull kui see, kui kott ilma minuta minema ujub. Astun vette. Saapad peavad esimese hooga vee kinni, aga edasi on külm. Ja tugev kiire vool. Aga kui lehm sellega hakkama sai, miks siis mina ei peaks saama? Väänan teisel pool sokid ja püksisaared kuivemaks, valan saabastest vee välja ja edasine kulgeb mõningase lurtsumise saatel. Ilm ei ole just supluseks ...

... The atmosphere feels so perfect, I feel I could float up with it...but in reality, at 3,500 metres, I'm gasping for oxygen every few steps! Half an hour later I reach the Gompa (monastery) perched on top of the rocky point and sit gazing at the distant mountains through the fluttering prayer flags. Not a soul to be seen, and from this height Leh is a tranquil oasis amid the desert ...

I sat around in the nomadic tent freezing my butt off (we're at 15,000 feet) with the group I'm travelling with and we laughed about how dirty we were, having not removed our clothing for 3 days by then...and one glance around the tent put everything into perspective, as these people get one or two showers PER YEAR.... After climbing the world's highest motorable passes (one caps out at 18, 380 feet), meeting a great group of people on a 15 hour (and local, I ...

... Shanti Stupa. The climb was easy, but we still found
ourselves struggling for breath every few hundred yards. We spent the
rest pauses taking pictures of the amazing scenery – the hill is
surrounded by a virtual fortress of mountains, some bare, but most
covered with snow. After climbing around 300 metres, we got to the
Shanti Stupa, which houses a 10 foot high idol of Buddha in a
meditative pose. We got back and Lalit and I started work on our presentation ...