Silk Route Inn Leh

... to go sleep - it was a long day after all - I walked some 25 km, climbing some 500 m. The sleeping room was a small just next to the main one. It had mattress by each wall and a pile of thick blankets. I was allocated two of them - there was no heating in the house, and at 4100 m it should be pretty cold by night. Come folks gathered in the main room, they lowered their voices when I came to sleep - its pretty remarkable, isn't it?

... br>Eventually we returned all the way back to the city and had a nice lunch at "Summer Harvest". I was too hungry and ordered too much, so Hide helped me a little. The steamed momos are much better than the fried ones, which i tried at Manali.
The plan for tomorrow is to take a scooter ride visiting the villages of the Indus valley to the South of Leh - Choglamsar, Shey, Stok, Matho, Thiksey, Stakna, Hemis, Karu and ...

... cauliflower & carrot (without the water) or other vegetables like cabbage and pees.

· Add chopped & fresh coriander

· Mix

· Add a little water

· Let it cook for a while with a lid.

· Smash a ½ potato (already cooked) in the juice.

· Cook a bit longer. Add water if too dry.

... digging around and talking to people we decided it was possible to do a trek on our own by carrying our own gear and staying with Ladakhi families and buying food from them. It was a bit of a gamble because most people take ponies, a guide and camp in tents but we wanted the freedom that comes from being on our own and going where and when we wanted to. A good decision but it meant we had to be prepared with full medical kit and emergency food ...

... sequel! we were forced to retrace our path a number of times but eventually made it to the other side where the real ascent was to begin! after another outrageous ascent we were finally at the pinnacle of our journey, 5328 m above sea level, and could look forward to the final leg of the journey to leh., which was still a further 3 hours distant! 14 hours after this stage began we finally arrived in leh, only to find our room sold as we hadn't showed up the previous night ...

... tr*ktsiooniks on jõkke kukkunud mootorr*tt* välj*tõstmine. Kõik j*g*v*d õpetusi. Probleemiks see, et r*tt* om*nikku pole koh*l j* os* r*hv*st k*rd*b süüdistusi r*tt* rikkumises.
W*simig* kokkus**miseni on kõv*sti *eg*, veed*n os* sellest r**m*tupoes, os* templis, kus v*ib*d on k*hjuks kokku rullitud j* üks ig*vlev munk nurg*s trummi lööb.
W*simile, Sunnyle j* Iftile on s**bunud kutse pulm*tseremooni*le, seeg* *nt*kse mulle motik*juhiks k**s* büroo n*lj*mees ...

... tilga vett ja küürin akna puhtaks. Ja küsin juhilt 10 ruupiat. Nii võib hädapärast ka läbi akna pildistada. Sest hindude jaoks on need ju juba pildistada saanud kohad ja võib rahus magada. Aga valgus on uus. Ja enamusest aknapiltidest nagunii asja ei saa. Jube on ikka olla autosse aheldatud seebikarbiturist.
Tangtses möödume templi moodi välja nägevast ehitisest, mille juures juht tagasiteel peatuse lubas teha. Pärast kontrollpunkti läbimist küsin, kas tal tempel ...

... jupp maad tagasi ja leian põhjas kividest moodustunud põlvesügavuse koolmekoha, mis sobib läbi vee sumamiseks. Sellise palavusega sobiv tegevus. Järgneb pikk palav ja kihulasterohke matk Diskitini. Manustan viimased kuivatatud aprikoosid.
Diskiti algus on ehtne agul. Lapsed nõuavad endast pilditegemist. Küla "keskus" on tuvastatav poodide ja restoranide järgi. Ostan mangomahla ja valin gompani kulgemiseks külast ringiga möödamineva tee. Tundub sel ...

... about 6 jeeps arrived in Old Manali, their drivers looking for the names of the passengers they wrote down on a small paper, and the passengers not fully understanding what was going on, most of them still drunk from Jazz party that was still going on.. finally everyone on board, we left, and a few hours later we could enjoy already a beautiful sunrise with snow covered mountain peaks at the horizon, and a frozen mountain lake.But the joy did not ...

This is part of a blog series that I wrote during a summer project at Leh. I will be visiting Leh again this month end, so I plan to continue the saga soon.

The dull throb of the engine grew into a tremendous roar as the plane
got ready to take off. I was seated by the window, just ahead of the
engine. From where I sat, the engine seemed to be a cannon getting
ready to propel its target across the sky. The roar grew louder as the
plane rushed along the runway, the ...