Up, up and away
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| The western Himalayas from the plane |
Waking to a 2:30am alarm definitely is not
my idea of the perfect start to the day.
My concerns that my driver would not be on time were relieved when he
was 10 minutes early (even though I was not yet ready).
The temperature outside is still very warm
– though not the oven-like of the previous afternoon. Dogs have finally decided that continuous barking is not
required.
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| Stok Khangri (6150m) from my hotel room |
The drive to the airport did have less
traffic and was way faster then the trip from the airport 2 days ago but it still
had a sufficient number of hair raising moments. While police were in evidence everywhere – from driving down
the wrong side of the road to road checkpoints at several locations, there was
none to match that of Monday night’s journey when we were following a covered
ute seeming overloaded with young men with legs sticking out the back. I noted something one of the
half-in-half-out young men was carrying and asked if it were a gun. My driver affirmed and advised that the
men were police militia. I did not
proceed with my query about whether such overloading of vehicles was
technically illegal.
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| More of the Kangri range from my hotel room |
I was dropped at the correct terminal and
entrance, produced my passport and ticket in order to enter the airport and
check in proceeded smoothly, as did security – though I was amused that men and
women go through separate security scanners and women receive the once over
with the wand in a private, curtained cubicle.
The walk to the gate was sufficient to
classify it as my morning exercise and I am well and truly in time – an hour
and a half before the flight leaves.
And no apparent free airport wifi, at least, not without a local phone
number.
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| Exploring lanes bordered by rock walls with Riga. Note the hay on the roof of the house behind |
The view from the plane window while still
at the gate was fairly obscured – by pollution haze, and the rising sun had all
the appearances of a scary bushfire sunrise. As we gained altitude, we quickly lost any view of the land,
due to pollution. The pollution level
here scares me – as did that in China.
These 2 huge countries with expanding populations are seriously
overloading the planet with their emissions.
A short time into the flight we received
our cardboard box of refreshments containing something that looked like a
coleslaw sandwich – uncooked veg.
Fingers crossed for breaking the food hygiene rules. At this point, the pollution seemed to
clear, and snow clad peaks loomed, range after range, peeking above
clouds. Soon the clouds cleared
and we were treated to picture box perfect panoramic views of the eastern
Himalayas. I was looking into the
sun through a rather dirty window, but it did not lessen my enjoyment of this
stunning vista – with not only the mountain peaks but also the glaciers.
As we approached Leh, I was aware that the
other side of the plane also had looming snow-clad peaks – even closer. It would have to be one of the most
scenic flights I have ever taken.
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| Row of 3 stupas in a "house" traditionally at the entrance to a village. |
As we reduced altitude, there were more
areas clear of snow – brown and dry with what looks like scree rivers down
valleys – possible evidence of glacier melt in some cases, maybe?
As we landed, the view was dominated by one
particular peak, but a man with a gun discouraged me from taking photos just
outside the plane. The temperature
on arrival: 6oC. A
little different to yesterday’s 43 oC.
The welcoming message at the airport was
from the Ladakha health authorities warning of the symptoms of altitude
sickness and advising complete rest for 24-36 hours. A whole new place to be explored and I am supposed to sit
with my feet up for a whole day!
My welcome committee outside the airport
was present and prominent, and my guide Riga took my bag and directed me to
wait until driver Bublu appeared with vehicle.
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| Rock paintings |
A drive through some interesting roads
brought us to my hotel – home for the next 2 nights. My room is a little more upmarket than that in Delhi – and
has a balcony with a view to die for.
The highest peak, Stok Khangri (6150m) and the rest of the Khangri range
dominates my view in one direction, through a row of bare willow trees. Through another window I can see the
back of the palace, through strings of prayer flags that adorn the adjacent
building’s roof. The room may be a
little more upmarket, and sports pillow cases and a bottom sheet, but not a top
sheet to go between me and the blanket.
My guide, Riga, subsequently requested one for me after I had remarked
upon this.
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| Leh Palace - in the past each village had its royal family |
Black tea was brought to me and I inquired about food, and was told to wait 10 minutes while the hotel boy went to the market. 10 minutes later a plate of chopped fruit materializes. I guess food and fruit sound similar to those with only a little English. The fruit was apple (nowhere near as good as the golden delicious on my tree) and tinned fruit salad. He had obviously gone out of his way to procure this for me, so for the second time today I broke the food hygiene rules.
I asked about breakfast – I think his
English was not good enough to understand much, he suggested toast with jam and
butter – I accepted. It was fairly
ordinary.
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| The old quarter with its houses with tiny windows (and a new house on top) |
My inquiries about wifi suggest
difficulties – something to do with the politics of being administered from
Kashmir and the cable having been cut.
It may be some time before this gets uploaded. I have already detected hints of unrest about the mixed
ethnic/religious balance in this area.
It seems not everyone is getting an equal deal!
A stream of buses – all with horns to toot,
passes my balcony, many loaded with school students in uniform – some sensibly
wearing warm hats. While it is
getting warmer in summer, with more snow and glacier melt causing problems, it’s
still remarkably cool here.
I order lunch – momo (do we have a theme
happening here) and it comes with ketchup and a coconut sauce. The latter was a delicious, albeit
unusual, complement to the momo. I
am told that coconut is a South Indian addition to food (that makes sense) – who first thought
to put it with momo?
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| Narrow (and very low - "mind your head!") laneway in the old quarter |
At 2pm, Riga appears to check on my health
status and since I reported no headaches he decreed I could go for a walk –
EXCELLENT! So we visited Leh’s
oldest monastery, Sankar Gompa. I
was introduced to the names of several statues, most of which I promptly
forgot, and we visited many different rooms and the upper floor – which is
apparently rarely open to visitors.
A photographic tribute to the life of Kushok Bakula Rinpoche occupied
the central space. This remarkable
man was both a monk and a political leader and was instrumental in
reestablishing Buddhist monasteries in Mongolia and other places where Buddhism
had been repressed.
Walking down narrow laneways, bordered by
stone walls, some of which were topped by drying cow dung – still used for
heating and cooking – provided some lovely framing for some of the views of the
mountain ranges and also some of the houses which have hay stacked on their
roofs to provide feed for the animals until spring provides growth and
sustenance.
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| Sacred carvings - 2 millenia old |
We proceeded down to some of the ancient
stupas and admired some even more ancient rock paintings and carvings,
including one that is estimated at a couple of thousand years old.
The town also has a catholic church and
several mosques – for different sects including Sunni and the Jain and …..
We visited Leh’s main Buddhist temple, with
some very precious and some very sacred statues.
We wandered through parts of the old town,
with its houses with miniscule windows and I was rather intrigued by the
building of one upon another - a
practice that still appears to be continuing.
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| Zho |
This was followed by a walk through the
market, with more modern shops, many of which are owned by Kashmiri people,
along with local people selling both fresh vegetables and dried fruit – some of
which is locally produced.
On the way back to the hotel I met my first
zho – your father was a yak and your mother was an ox (reminds me of insults
from a Monty Python movie)
Minor issue with water supply to my
bathroom: non existent. Assorted
efforts to restore on behalf of staff were unsuccessful and it was suggested I
should move to an adjacent room – I enquired about my mountain view, and was
shown the view – almost as good.
However there was a bit of a mess on the carpet which needed to be
cleaned up first. As I was about
to be moved into the room, I noticed that the mess had come from disintegrating
plaster on the ceiling – which seemed to have been the result of dampness. I suggested that this was not the best
for my ongoing health and after renegotiating the “it is ok now” response was
shown an alternate room with a much more obscured view and a promise that the
next day I could go back to the other room. A few minutes later the story was that the plumber is
coming and I could go back to my other room in half an hour. However the story reverted after I had
eaten my dinner. In the meantime I
had noticed similarly disintegrating patches of ceiling plaster in current room
– not quite as bad though.
Very ready for sleep after dinner – even
though the mattress is thoroughly unforgiving I managed a couple of good long
stints.
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