This is my second trip to India in last 4 years. It was not difficult for me to choose the destination for my second visit. I knew the answer since my first visit in 2008 that i shall come to Leh again. The beauty of this place always excite me. The only difference was that this time i was in the group. Flying over the Himalayas en route from Delhi to Leh was spectacular and made us all excited to spend time exploring new mountains. We come from the Wasatch Mountain Range in Utah and mountains are a part of our everyday life.
The town of Leh where we acclimated – elevation of 11,500 feet
Spinning the prayer wheel
Ladakh has some of the most intact Tibetan buddhist culture left on earth
Typical Ladhaki Home
View of the Leh from Bathroom
After landing in Leh, our friend Chamba, picked us up at the airport and transported us to our guest house, the Norzin Holiday Home. The owners, Lobsang and Angmo greeted us warmly and showed us to our rooms. There are only 5 rooms in the guesthouse and there is a lovely outdoor porch on the second floor where we enjoyed a cup of tea. After lunch at the Tibetan Kitchen, we walked back to our guesthouse and all took a nap, still jetlagged from our 26 hour flight from the USA to Delhi followed by an action packed day in 45 degree Delhi heat. We were all feeling the altitude as well with slight headaches.
Walking up to the ancient Shey Palace
Walking up to the ancient Shey Palace
View across the valley from Shey Palace
Shey Stupas
On our second day in Leh, we had a vehicle pick us up to take us to some of the well- known monasterys and palaces near Leh. First stop was Shey Palace where we loved walking up to the very top of the ancient palace and enjoyed views of the valley and the snowcapped peaks.
The local children were very friendly to Mia and Deborah
Deborah and Mia met some young girls their age who came up to greet them. Abby was able to get the four girls to pose for a photo.
Monks at Hemis Monestary
Inside Hemis Monastery
The Shakyamuni Buddha at Shey
Taking a break from studying to play with water
From there we went to Hemis Monestary where we were able to hear the monks chanting. When they took a break for lunch and came outside, one of the older monks came right up to us and held his hand out to the children, Deborah and Mia, ages 9 and 10, and gave them a warm smile. He was one of many who immediately smiled and held out a hand when they saw the children with us.
Lunch break at Chamba’s house
Sashi Dolma made us Thupka Yum!!
Stanzin Angmo with Mia & Deborah
Amazing dinner at Sashi Dolmo’s house in Thikse after the trek
After Hemis, we made a stop at Chamba’s home where his mother, Sashi Dolma, prepared us a delicious Thupka soup. After lunch we chatted about politics while Deborah and Mia went outside with 14 year old Angmo to see the animals.
Thikse Monastery. Home to about 1000 monks in the Gelugpa sect
The statue of Maitreya Buddha at Thikse
Our friend Lama Tsephel joined us for dinner
We finally left our friends lovely home to visit the Thikse Monestary and then to Stok Palace. We did not return to Leh until 7 pm and went straight to the Tibetan Kitchen for a delicious meal. Our dear friend Lama Tsephel, who Abby met in 2008, joined us for dinner. Then we all collapsed into a deep sleep.
Shanti Stupa on the outskirts of Leh — at Shanti Stupa
After a delicious breakfast of fresh Ladakhi bread and omelets, we headed out to walk up to the Shanti Stupa. Deborah and Mia counted over 500 steps on their way up. We had wonderful views of Leh and it’s green fields. After lunch, Lauren and Tom went up to the Leh Palace and Karen and I shopped with Deborah and Mia.
Deborah and Mia with a local Ladakhi
After all, this would be our only time to purchase gifts and souvenirs. Deborah and Mia purchased pendents from an older woman who then gave them each a small finger ring as a gift. That was not the first time a shopkeeper gave them a gift! Lucky girls. We met Tom and Lauren at 6 pm sharp for dinner and we were joined by Chamba and our guide for our trek, Stanzin. We looked at the topo map to see our trek route and got to know each other before heading back to our guesthouse for an early night.
The road to the start of our trek
The pony men had a great parachute tent which took them about 30 seconds to set up
The pony men were happy to see their buddy in the green sweater who, BTW, insisted on carrying me across the river on his back. I gave him some wool socks and then he brought me a bottle of goat milk.
After another delicious breakfast of homemade bread and eggs, we were picked up by a vehicle at 9am. We went in one vehicle with stanzin and another vehicle/truck took our duffel bags. In the back of the truck was our cook Lal sing, our assistant guide who we called Mr. Stanzin and our two assistants, Macpa and Gombo.
Pashmina goats
Children and baby goats = Happiness
Same for baby donkeys
We started the 5 hour drive over changla pass, through Tangtse and on to the start of the trek in Chillam at 4,000 meters. There are just a few local houses in Chillam so we set up camp and then relaxed. Deborah and Mia played with a baby goat whose owners lived nearby.
Breakfast at the start of the trek in Chillam
Everyone slept well and felt fine in the altitude. We enjoyed breakfast out in the fresh air. Our wonderful cook Lal Sing always provided a good assortment of food. At about 10 am we took off for the first day of easy walking from Chillam to Shachukul. We only gained 100 metres because the prior day we gained 500 meters so wanted to make sure we acclimated slowly. Our camp was outside the village of Shachukul on a beautiful bright green grassy area between two small rivers. We set up camp, had a delicious hot lunch and then relaxed for a few hours so our bodies could acclimate.
Kids playing in Mud
Deborah and Mia took mud from the river and made ‘bricks’ so they could build a structure after the bricks dried.
Shachukul Monastery. H. H. The Dalai Lama will be in Ladakh for 3 weeks starting 21 July and Shachukul is one of the monasteries he is visiting
With the head monk at Shachukul. He invited us for tea
Monks in the village of Shachukul. It was Saturday so they were out playing soccer.
At 3.30 we walked into the village of Shachukul to visit the monastery. The village was abuzz as His Holiness The Dalai Lama will be visiting Shachukul during his 3 week tour around Ladakh which starts July 21. Villagers from surrounding villages come each day and volunteer their time to help with construction of some new buildings. Walking around the small village we were once again greeted with warmth and big smiles! In the monastery they were finishing up a colorful sand mandala and performing a ceremony which included blowing some beautiful horns. Then the head monk took us to the original monestary which was build over 100 years ago. After showing us the inside, he invited us in for tea which we gracefully accepted.
Karen with her guitar
Our fabulous chef, Lal Sing, busy preparing another scrumptious meal
Back at camp, we had a music session with Karen on the guitar and Deborah and Mia singing. We went into the cook tent and sang for our cook and assistants. Music is a wonderful way to bring people together who speak different languages.
The summer ‘hamlet’ of Lainak where locals from Shachukul come to graze their goats & yaks
Hiking up the valley
After a delicious breakfast we hiked up the valley to our next camp which was approximately half way between Shachukul and Lainak. It was about 800 feet higher than the previous camp. We took our time walking and enjoyed the beautiful river which paralleled the trail. Once at camp, we had a hot lunch and then some of the group rested while Abby and Lauren explored up the valley towards Lainak.
Visiting a local home in Lainak. We had butter tea, milk tea & goat curd.
We had a rest day to acclimate. We hiked up to Lainak which is a hamlet at 4700 meters which is occupied about 4 months of the year by people from Shachukul who come up there to graze their yak and goat herds. A local woman invited us into her house for salt tea and milk tea. She offered us some delicious goat curd as well. All of the people we met up there were older couples who had been coming up there for many many years - some for as many as 30 years.
Lauren coming down from Sumdo
Hiking towards Shera La pass
The following day Lauren, Tom, Abby, Stanzin and Mr. Stanzin hiked up past Sumdo and towards Shera La Pass. We had a little rain and snow as well but it was a gorgeous day. Here we are at 5100 metres having a bite to eat.
The road to Chang La pass
The stupa at Chang La pass
Ladakh is the ‘land of high passes.’ Apparently this is one of the worlds highest motorable passes
In the next couple of days we made our way back down to Shachukul where we were picked up in Shachukul by the vehicles that brought us to Chillam. We loaded up and made the 5 hour drive back to Leh, once again crossing Chang La pass. After arriving in Leh, everyone was psyched to shower and relax. Abby visited with her dear friend Kompel. At 5.30 pm we had a van take us to Kompel and Chamba’s house in Thikse for a farewell dinner. Our guide Stanzin joined us (he is a first cousin to Chamba and Kompel) and Stanzin’s mother came as well. Our hosts prepared a feast for us. After dinner, Karen played music and Deborah and Mia performed a few of their favorite songs.
Tom checking out the electrical wiring. Things that make you go hmmm.
Street snacks – Chandni Chowk
Old Delhi’s ‘cycle market’
Local jewelry shop
In front the Red Fort in 110 degree temps. At least it was dry and not humid.
At the Sikh Temple with the protectors
We were given head scarves before going into the Darbar Sahib (prayer hall)
Shopping at Local Market where we bought some nice kurtas – bargaining is must
We left our guest house at 8 am so we had plenty of time before our 10:20 flight to Delhi (via Srinigar). We took a taxi back to our hotel in Old Delhi and ate lunch in the hotel. After lunch our dear friend Jaspal and his wife Jasneet met us. First stop was the Gurduwara Sis Ganj in Chandi Chowk. That was followed by an excursion to find Karen’s husband a nice shirt. We loved winding through the narrow alleys to get to the shirt shop and Jaspal did a terrific job negotiating a price on Karen’s purchases. Lastly we had some cold drinks and sweets at Haldirams before parting ways.
If you want to be notified next time, subscribe to the RSS feed or say hello via Twitter @theotherhome. You can plan your dream holiday with us, visit The Other Home.
(Author: Abby Grayzel - abbygrayzel (a) yahoo (dot) com)
No comments:
Post a Comment