The journey to Leh

Since arriving in India I've been told by a few Indian's that I shouldn't travel to Leh on my own. Now that I've done it I'm not really sure why. Sure it's a long journey (17 hours if all goes well) but no real danger that I could see.

The drive up to Leh was unbelievable. I've never seen landscape like it. Desert mountains and plains, raging muddy brown rivers, snow capped mountains, teal green lakes, electric blue skies, unimaginable colours everywhere you look… yet so desolate.

Most of the time I felt like I was in a Mad Max movie. You can drive for hours and not see a single living thing and then a few tents would pop up in the distance like an oasis where we could refuel, grab something to eat and use the “open” toilet.

The only other people you see are the road workers covered head to toe in black tar. When the roads open each year around July (when the snow clears) it’s a huge job to make these roads passable again. Roads are carved into mountainsides with the sheerest of drops into nothingness. Landslides are common. We’d zigzag our way up a mountain and back down again … then fly across the flattest of plains between two mountains. At one stage we drove through the second highest pass in the world (altitude of 17,582 feet).

Kevin and I hired a motorbike, giving us the freedom to explore surrounding villages at our own pace. The ride to Lamayuru was even more breathtaking than the jeep ride to Leh. Cruising through ever changing mountains, we had to make many stops to just take it all in. (Jelle: when you come back to India this is a must for you, you will love it!!!).

It took a leisurely 6 hours, stopping at villages along the way and when we arrived we weren't disappointed ... Lamayuru is really beautiful. We found a really cheap guesthouse with the most amazing view of the oldest gompa in Ladakh (the reason we came here) and a couple of cute kids (see photos). The next day after breakfast we headed back to Leh, again stopping at some great gompas and villages along the way.

Back in Leh the next day, it was the Dalai Lamas 71st birthday and we’d been invited to join a huge celebration with Desel (a 20 year old Tibetan boy Kevin met at a temple) and his family. There’s a large Tibetan Refugee Community living here and they have to be some of the nicest people in the world. We had an awesome day watching cultural dance (Indian and Tibetan) and just hanging out with Desel and his family. So many beautiful and intriguing faces every where you look ... and such joy!

Every year at this time there's a 2 day religious festival at Hemis Monastery called Tse-Chu, to celebrate the birth of Padmasambhava who introduced Buddhism to Tibet. So we jumped on the bike and made our way there in time for ceremonial masked dancing in the gompas courtyard.

The next day I just walked around Leh and visited the palace and fort. It’s a bit of a hike up to these and I was still struggling with the change of altitude so it was a slow old climb ... 50 meters and stop to catch my breath ... another 50 meters rest ... it’s strange to always being out of breath, especially when I thought I was pretty accustomed to hiking after 8 months on the road.

For my last 24 hours in Leh the most fantastic opportunity arose. Desel invited Kevin and I to stay with him at his families home. His family consists of 11 brothers and sisters, 1 mother, 3 fathers (all brothers) and 1 grandmother. That night we learnt how to make momos (traditional Tibetan food) and then sat around listening to the kids playing guitars and singing with the youngest father. I wish I could put into words the warmth I felt sitting amongst these people who have very little, yet gave me everything.

The next day two Lamas (Monks), one senior one junior, visited the house to give Desel a blessing before he left for school to study medicine. All Tibetan homes have a prayer room that's used daily for puja (prayers and offerings), with a throne like seat that is only ever used by Lamas. Stepping into the room was just like walking into a temple. From start to finish it took about 4 - 5 hours with chanting, drums, cymbals and incense... magical! We were really privileged to witness this event, another look into the Tibetan culture that we otherwise wouldn't have had the opportunity to see.

The trip back to Manali seemed to be a lot quicker and with only 6 passengers and 1 driver (instead of 12 on the way up) we were a lot more comfortable. All didn’t go to plan though. About 3 hours away from our destination we got a flat tyre. Now this wouldn't normally be a problem and as we watched our driver expertly change the tyre we were pleased that we hadn't lost too much time.

Unfortunately the spare tyre was completely flat and therefore of very little use. What kind of person sets out on a 17 hour journey and doesn't check the spare tyre I ask you?

So in the middle of no where, we watched our driver disappear into the distance in a passing truck. 2 hours later he returned and without a word to anyone changed the tyre and we were off again. By this time it was dark and raining (our bags on the roof were soaked) and a heavy fog had set in, so heavy in fact, we drove off the road and Talia who was sitting in the front seat had to get out and lead the 4WD back onto the road. It was a very long and tense drive after that. I’ve seriously satisfied any further need to go four wheel driving for the rest of my life.

Instantly bonded by our experience, when we finally arrived in Manali, four of us (Talia: Israeli and the newlyweds Songyee: Korean/American and Jeff American)dumped our bags and headed out for dinner.

The next 24 hours were pretty much all about relaxing and eating, before the long journey ahead of me to Rishekesh.

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