Blogs from Jammu & Kashmir, India, Asia - page 8

No, I don't have chapped lips... Indeed in this very dry area, with high altitude (all above 3000m) and blazing sun, even through the clouds; MY LIPS ARE COMPLETELY DRY! Leh is in fact a bit of a city in a desert. All around Leh it is rocks and sand. And only the city is a bit green. It's like that all over Ladakh. Very arid landscapes is sprinkled with little green valleys. As soon as there is a little river, usually glacier melting water, then the Ladakhi use them to build their villages around it. Through a smart and communal irrigation system they succeed at making thess high altitude deserts into fertile farmland. But so, water is a rarity here, and tourist like us form a threat to the environment. So it is very important ... read more

Slowly waking up. We're still out of breath at this altitude but we're going to walk around a bit. Today I didn't take any pictures, so pictures are Nadja Dumann copyrighted ;-) Ladakh is a Buddhist area, it's one of the few regions that look, feel, and lives like Tibet was before the Chinese invaded. In Leh there are a few mosques so here there are also some Muslims, mainly originating from Kashmir. These huge prayer wheels are filled with prayers printed on paper, and the more you turn the wheel, the more the prayers are recited and sent around the world. Let's turn the wheel for good-luck for our trip....... read more

A national heritage, it is distinct from other monasteries in Ladakh as it is situated on flat ground unlike others which are located on hilltops. Alchi Gompa is located approximately 60 kms west of Leh off the main Kargil Leh toute near Saspul. Alchi Gompa was established in 1000 AD, by Rinchen Zangpo. The Alchi Monastery is famous for the murals which adorns the walls of this ancient gompa although most of them require restoration and unfortunately few of the murals are beyond repair. The Alchi monastery is now managed by monks from the Likir gompa. The two main temples in Alchi are the Alchi Du-khang and the Sum-tsek but there are also three smaller buildings to explore. It has three main structures known as Du-khang, Sum-tsek and the temple of Manjushri. Du-khang, the assembly hall, ... read more

It was after assurances from my friend that is was absolutely safe to visit Kashmir, did i make up my mind to plan a trip to Kashmir in end October 2012. It was something like a dream come true. I prepared the tour programme, booked the flights about 6 months in advance and then finalised the hotels after thorough re-search in the net. We would travel straight to Pahelgam from Srinagar airport and spend 3 nights in Pahelgam. From there we would come to Srinagar and spent 4 days there before returning to kolkata. Day 1 Everything was in place. On the date of the journey we had to wake up at 3.30 am in the morning to catch our flight to Delhi and connecting flight to Srinagar.I had read in reviews that the view of ... read more

Delhi We are back from Gangtok to a relatively dry Delhi for 3 nights, back to Namaskar India to their main room (203). Functional, clean, cool and cheap at Rs 1000 per night. It’s a lot cooler for the first day and we decide to go shopping to Connaught Place. After a quick bite at Khan Cha Cha (we are now regulars), we check out Fab India for some stuff for the family then to the Central Indian Emporium in Janpath for a few gifts and finally The Shop which is a “chic boutique” according to LP. We get some good gear for Louise, Sarah & Little B. As we are in Janpath we venture into The Imperial Hotel (mainly to use the posh loos for free). However, on a ... read more